


"My blood is his..."

by KeyArtYui, MirLeeLau



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blood Drinking, Blood Kink, Blood Sharing, Eranort, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Human/Vampire Relationship, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, M/M, Memory Alteration, Vampire Bites, Vampire Hunters, Vampire Sex, Vampires, Xehaqus, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:15:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28016838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeyArtYui/pseuds/KeyArtYui, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirLeeLau/pseuds/MirLeeLau
Summary: Xehanort just wants to feed and Eraqus, a lonely student searching for company, is a perfect candidate.What they don't know is that their meeting will turn their lives upside down for eternity.
Relationships: Eraqus & Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts), Eraqus/Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 18





	1. First Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka Love at First Bite... kinda?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm so excited for the first chapter and how you guys will take the story. I'm really enjoying the time writing it and I hope that you will enjoy your time reading it as well.  
> This started off as a small idea I had thrown at Mira some time ago and she was like YAS LETS DO VAMPIRE AU. This reignited my teenage fascination in Vamps and I can finally let my fantasy flow. And honestly this fanfiction makes my love for writing thrive again and it's been some time...  
> And Mira is an amazing Xeha, I know what I'm saying.  
> It's a roleplay-originated fanfiction and me and Mira are doing our best to make it look less role-ish and more book-ish, so please bear with us :D  
> Leave comments and if you like it, hit kudos, it means a lot to us writers.  
> Have a good read :D  
> ~Yui
> 
> Hi everyone!!  
> So excited to be able to finally get to share this experience with you!!  
> Yui and I have been working hard and having a blast in our RP as we write this AU!  
> Some of this is rather self-indulgent in spots and Yui and I are definitely probably living out some of our vampire fantasies from when we were younger but that's okay!  
> It's going to be full of lots of drama and suspense and feels. ALL THE FEELS.  
> It feels good to just get out there with this now as my first real joint project.  
> Yui is the best Era I could ask for, especially for bearing with me as I shake off some of my RP rust and stretch my writing legs once again publicly.  
> I hope you all enjoy what we have in store!  
> Please feel free to leave comments or Kudos, it means a lot!  
> Enjoy your read! <3  
> ~Mira

Song of The Chapter: Jupither - I Kissed a Boy

<https://youtu.be/CJsbRmNXlPE>

  
Normally, Eraqus would probably spend another Friday night at his dorm, sketching something or composing another of his melodies he would never finish after all, if it wasn’t for his so called friends making him go out with them to night clubs.

They weren’t really his thing generally, but having friends was important enough that he needed to make time for them.

He had very few friends as it was, so losing some of the few he _did_ have would be a problem.

So there he was, in a nightclub full of sweaty people dancing against one another, cigarette smoke filling the air with a haze and loud music banging in his head.

He loved music, yes, but with proper volume.

Very soon after they'd arrived, his friends had gone off to the bar or the dance floor respectively, and Era was left alone at the table, saying he will join them in a minute, but never actually doing it. He’d promised himself he would stay only few hours and go home. They probably wouldn’t even notice, being so drunk and barely standing themselves.

But he was feeling lonely again, even in a place so full of people.

So he got up and left the table to take a walk, looking around he thought he would go over to the bar to see what was happening there. There weren't many people who just sat there, brooding over their loneliness or heartbreaks at this time of night yet. It was kind of early still and people weren’t drunk enough to take up all the seats by the bar.

Era had never been to this club before, so he was curious what good drinks he could find here. One or two wouldn’t hurt.

So he approached the bar and the first thing, or a person, he noticed was a white-haired guy, with silvery eyes, almost shining in dim light of the club, as he was working on making a drink really skillfully with precision. His hands were moved like they were doing something so natural and easy as breathing.

Era was amazed by… everything about this man and almost hypnotized by his exotic beauty, so without really knowing it, he sat on a stool basically in front of him.

The first thing that came to Era’s mind was those damned eyes. He was searching for them and when their eyes finally met, he said something that came off as weird after he had already said it.

“You have beautiful eyes.”

Then he had realized how awkward that sounded and his face became covered by a blush.

“Never mind that... sorry!” He said panicked “…so... are you working here?”

Here it was. Social awkwardness in its full bloom.

“Dammit, of course you work here! I’m such an idiot... and I need a drink. Yes, that’s what I came here for...” he said brushing his hand through his hair nervously “So... what can you recommend... Xeha?” He asked looking at his name tag.

Xehanort looked over the nervous, but beautiful human, that sat in front of him, a blush quickly rising over his face as he tried to ramble, nervously running a hand through his raven hair, as he averted his silver eyes from Xeha's. There was something about this human that seemed different than most others he got as customers, though Xeha couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was cute, there was no doubt about that, but he looked really attractive in the outfit he was wearing. And his scent, the scent of his blood, was pleasant, sweet, but powerful. It made Xeha's stomach almost growl with hunger for a taste of it, and the man in general. It had been a while since Xeha had last fed on a human’s blood, but tonight he couldn't help himself, so he turned up the charm to lure the human into him, but still played it naturally.

Xeha looked up and down the human once again, putting on a sweet and reassuring smile.

"Well, you look a bit nervous, so how about something to relax you..." Xeha said reaching down to grab a few things to start mixing. "And you look like a sweet guy, so how about something sweet to take the edge off?"

After grabbing a few more ingredients to mix, resulting in a red looking drink that seemed to sparkle in the dim lights of the club, Xeha slid it in front of the man on a napkin, giving it a black straw and cherry to top it off.

"Try this." Xeha said with a kind smile.

Era observed his movements and listened to his words like he was in trance. Hearing Xeha’s voice made him somehow calmed down and already relaxed. So without saying anything he observed the preparation process and when it was done he was surprised how quick Xeha was.

“Thanks.” Era said raising the straw to his mouth to try the drink out. His eyes grew wide at the taste which was both sweet and sour from alcohol... and the mix made him feel so relaxed and calm, like he was talking with his best friend. Or perhaps it was it those eyes and smile that were so convincing of his kind nature.

“It’s... amazing. I’m Eraqus. Era for short.” He said before taking another sip. Something in this guy made Era feel like he could trust him with his life. And he didn’t know why he felt that with a stranger. “Do you have... many shifts here?” He asked, really calm now.

"I work here most nights, whenever I am asked. The owner is... an old friend of mine. It gives me something to do and I'm good at it." Xeha admitted, before reaching out to take Era's hand and press a kiss to the back of Era's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Eraqus."

Era’s heart skipped a beat and he was sure he stopped breathing for a second. He felt as if he was melting. He was feeling like the core of his existence was being seen through and taken over. Like Xeha already knew all of Era’s secrets.

Including the biggest one.

Xeha seemed to know it all, clearly flirting with him. He wanted to panic but inside he felt nothing but calm and trust. Like it was just a normal way of talking with him, like they had done it many times before already.

Though the place Xeha planted his kiss to was burning hot.

“Likewise...” he said parting their hands a bit reluctantly as he noticed an old, silver ring with a small shining stone on it. “Nice ring. Family heritage?” He asked taking another sip of this amazing _tranquilizer_.

"Oh, yeah. It's... been in my family for generations." Xeha said smoothly, taking his hand away gently. "It belonged to my thrice great grandfather."

Xeha subconsciously played with the ring on his finger as he spoke. The ring was no ordinary ring. It was old, and it had belonged to Xeha's family, ages and ages ago. But Xeha was the last of his bloodline.

When Xeha was but a young grown vampire, his entire family had been attacked by a mob, afraid of what they could not understand. Xeha had been the only one to escape with his life. There was a charm placed upon this ring to allow Xeha to move about in the sunlight without coming to harm. The sun could still make him a bit weaker from time to time, if he was in it directly for long periods of time, but not enough to hurt him.

"So, Era, what do you do for a living? Are you a student here?" Xeha asked, trying to redirect their conversation.

Era waited as Xeha went silent and he wanted to say something about how he admires such traditions of passing family treasures, but then Xeha spoke asking about his everyday life.

“Yeah. I’m a student. I’m from kind of further place and no one will basically know the name of it because it’s a small town. I’m studying arts in college here. Music and art major. I play piano and violin.” He said “And I work part time in a coffee shop. Sometimes making graphics on order. And you? Do you do something apart from work?”

"Oh, I'm a master of many things... But my favorite thing to do is my art." Xeha said with sweet smile. "I'd love to hear you play sometime..."

Xeha sensed another customer approaching the bar nearby.

“So you love painting? And doing other stuff too? I see you’re a Man Of All Talents type.” He joked but before Xeha could answer, his attention was brought to another customer.

"Excuse me for just one moment, Era." Xeha apologized before stepping away to help the new customer, able to feel Era's eyes on him the entire time as he worked.

When Xeha left to serve them, Era observed, unconsciously biting down on his lower lip, as Xeha worked around other customers with the same nice attitude and professionalism in his movements. He was so young but seemed like it was something he was doing his entire life.

“You’re so nice to everyone... I’m almost jealous...” Era said with a smile, when Xeha came back, taking another sip through the straw “And so professional at this job. How long have you been working here? Did you work in this business before?”

They were talking for maybe not more than 10 minutes now, but Era already felt like he had known Xeha much longer and still wanted to know more about him.

"Oh, I've been working here for ages… Too many years to count really... It gives me something to do when I'm not working on my art and other things." Xeha said nonchalantly with a smile, internally laughing at his own, personal joke. "It pays off to be kind to others... We are all here just trying to survive... No one asked us if we wanted to exist."

Era almost choked on his drink.

“Ages? Many years? Did you work here as a baby?” He asked with a joking voice “How old are you that you say it was years?” He looked at Xeha up and down watching for any signs of older age than he thought. But to Era he looked like young Greek god.

Xeha laughed lightly at Era before quickly clarifying his appearance to him.

"I'm 26. I've been working here since I was 21." Xeha reasoned. "I apologize for my confusing verbiage."

“I thought you were younger. You don’t look to be close to 30. I’m 22. Also, do you mind making me one more of this amazing nectar of the gods?” Era answered asking for a refill of the drink and started to munch on a cherry.

"Sure." Xeha nodded with a sweet smile, taking Era's empty glass and beginning to make him another drink in a fresh one.

“So art, huh? What do you like to paint exactly? Do you have any favorite theme?” Era asked as he watched Xeha prepare his drink once again.

"I paint many things, animals, landscapes, you know... But I think my favorite things to draw or paint are people." Xeha shrugged nonchalantly, as he placed the new drink in front of Era.

“Why them?” Era asked not moving his eyes from Xeha’s like he wanted to get inside his head and understand how can someone be so flawless and interesting. “Why people? There is always a reason for this. They are surely not the easiest to either paint or draw them, so why? I like to draw people too but it’s mostly situations I saw, so the people I saw and the moments they’ve been in. It’s easier to recall from memory than to draw whatever comes to mind. I’m not much of a painter, more of a sketcher or drawer. I do paintings as well, but not of people.” Era finished and took a sip from the straw again, looking at Xeha as he answered.

"Well, I think, if done right, you can capture a person's life in a portrait. Every laugh line, wrinkle, and freckle can tell you a story. Again, done well, you can tell a lot about a person by looking into their eyes or looking at their hands for instance.” Xeha explained. He wasn't sure that was truly the only reason he had always felt the need to paint and draw humans most often in his work, but he felt Era needed explanation.

Truth was that Xeha was a lonely vampire and he liked to capture the humans he was around, and those he cared about. Xeha himself had a photographic memory and could remember his family's faces as if he had just seen them yesterday, but he himself could never be photographed. A shame really, Xeha thought to himself.

“It’s so poetic.” Era said with a dreamy tone and smile “You make it sound like it’s really full of life. Makes me want to see your paintings even more.” He said and he moved his hair from one side of his neck in an effortless and for him a casual gesture.

Then he changed his mind and decided to put all his hair up in a messy looking bun.

“It gets kind of hot in here once there is a lot of people, doesn’t it?” He asked and moved the top of the long loose sweater from his shoulders and leaving it hanging by his elbows.

He noticed sudden tension in Xeha’s muscles and thought he could see almost a dangerous spark in his eye.

Indeed, Era’s movements focused on giving the most possible ventilation to cool his neck, caused Xeha’s stomach to twirl with hunger as the air filled with Era’s blood scent reached him. Xeha was doing his best to not pull the younger man in and just sink his fangs into his soft skin right here and then, in the place where Era’s blood vessel was calling him the most.

“Is everything okay?” Era asked, but before he got an answer, someone else had come up from behind him and embraced his middle in a way that Era definitely didn’t feel comfortable with.

Too low.

“Hey, pretty boy. Why are you sitting over here instead of having fun?” He whispered into his ear. “Wanna dance?”

Era turned the best he could to look at the face of a man wearing a smirk and a weird wave of calmness washed over him. He was surprisingly ready, against his discomfort, to agree, when Xeha suddenly stepped in.

Xeha was on the opposite side of the bar in a blink of an eye, pushing the other vampire off of Era with force, possession running rampant through his veins.

"Oi, Asshole. This man is spoken for." Xeha said forcefully, his voice dripping in possession and anger.

"Oh, and who speaks for him?" The other vampire said smith a smirk, still touching Era.

" _I DO_." Xeha growled, his fist clenching.

Era had no control over what has going on and Xeha knew he had to step in. Pushing the non-man away harshly before pulling a hard punch to his nose. The vampire stumbled back, letting go of Era.

Xeha put himself between Era and the vampire trying to drool over him, in more ways than one, placing Era behind him. "You're making him uncomfortable. He's not giving you consent by sitting here. He doesn't want your disgusting hands all over him. So BACK OFF. Get the hell out of here before I throw you out."

The man disappeared in the crowd faster than Era could even notice, still staying a bit under weird influence of something he couldn’t even explain inside. Too much was happening in one moment for him to get a good grasp on it.

How could Xeha be so fast to be by his side when just seconds earlier he was standing behind the long bar?

The words Xeha spoke... about Era being spoken for... by him? What did he exactly mean?

Era blinked a few times, his head hurting from this weird mix of thoughts in his mind and this feeling of missing something from the equation...

“What... what just happened?” He asked, confused looking at Xeha who was still standing in protective way in front of him, looking all tensed up into the crowd.

“Xeha... What was all this…? I feel a bit dizzy... never mind...” he said and turned back to the counter drinking up his drink fast, without the straw, all in one go.

The whole situation made him feel like he was losing his mind, his thoughts rushing and trying to speak to him all at once. Searching for an explanation for everything he saw.

Xeha’s possessiveness, his growling voice full of anger... something so primal.

This guy only wanted to ask Era to dance, right? He had no real intention of going since he was already having enough fun with Xeha, but for a moment somehow he had felt like it’s something he _had_ to do for some reason.

What was all that?

A sudden wave of cold washed over him and he pulled the sweater back up on his arms, hugging himself in an anxious manner as he watched Xeha slowly getting back behind the bar.

 _HOW WAS HE SO FAST EARLIER?_ He wanted to know what was going through Xeha’s head when he said all those words. Era wanted to know what it all meant but at the moment if felt like it was all too much... The drinks hitting his head harder than he expected.

“I should go home...” Era said to Xeha holding his head in his hands. “Something is odd and I can’t gather my thoughts...” He was trying to get up but suddenly Xeha spoke to him calmingly.

"Era, wait." Xeha said softly, taking Era's hand gently in his own. "You don't look very good. I'm worried about you heading home by yourself. My shift is already halfway through, let me to give you a ride home when I'm done. Please allow me to make sure you get home safely."

“Okay...” Era only said sitting back down, and when Xeha let go of his hand he leaned his forehead on both hands, his head suddenly calming down, and as fast as his thoughts were running earlier, none of them stayed now. As if he had forgotten what he had on tip of his tongue.

Era should have probably looked around for his friends he had come here with, but he knew they wouldn’t bother to find him, having fun on their own.

He felt lonely somehow. Not cared for. Even now when he was talking to Xeha, he still felt like he was alone. He almost didn’t want to go back home to his dorm.

“You're right... I don’t really feel like going home yet. No one would be there waiting for me worried anyways.” Era said spinning the glass around on the counter slowly. “I came here with my friends but no one even ever searched for me since I left the table… They're probably having too much fun to care. Or maybe they've already left to go to other club, forgetting all about me. Like they ever cared. I should have stayed home, you know? At least I wouldn’t feel like I feel now.”

“I don’t even know why they invited me out if they don’t care... Probably out of pity. Because I usually spend evenings like this at my dorm room, drawing or writing pieces of music.” Era chuckled.

He took a look at his phone. It was well past midnight. The club was closing at 3. No messages. None from his family either, as usual. Era sighed quietly and looked at Xeha, who was looking at Era with a bit of worry, trying to give him a small reassuring smile.

“I guess drinking another glass would not be recommended…?” Era stated with a question in his voice. “But I should be fine until you finish work. Please?”

Xeha only shook his head.

“You shouldn’t intoxicate yourself so much, just because you are feeling a lot of emotionals. It's not tas-... healthy to do so.” Was the answer Era was given and he wondered why Xeha hesitated. “Besides, it won’t change the way you feel. Not for long at least. Drink some water instead if you are thirsty.” He said passing him a glass of water.

Era accepted it and sighed after drinking it up. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and leaned his head on arms crossed on the counter closing his eyes to rest.

Xeha kept a close eye on Era's resting form as he worked, pointedly giving glares to anyone that dared disturb him until the club started to clear out, leaving only the few employees cleaning up their stations before locking up for the night.

Xeha made sure to let Era rest as long as possible until it was just the two of them. Then he grabbed his own black leather jacket before coming to lean up against the bar beside Era, gently shaking his shoulder to rouse him from his rest.

"Era, wake up, it's time to go.”

Era raised his head in a sleepy manner and looked around regaining awareness of the environment. When he met Xeha’s eyes, he felt immediately awake.

“Oh... okay. Sorry to be a burden...” Era mumbled getting up from the stool, stumbling over his feet a bit and stretching his arms.

"You're not a burden, Eraqus." Xeha assured as he looked over Era worriedly. They started their walk towards the back door of the club.

But before they even left the building, Era realized one thing. He was about to go home, and he didn’t feel like it. Not yet. It was still the middle of the night and he would feel too lonely alone in his dorm. That feeling of loneliness from before hadn't quite disappeared yet as they walked towards the door. It was only growing.

Xeha was able to pick up Era's lonely thoughts with each step. He almost felt guilty because of his intentions toward Era and how he tried to gain the boy’s trust. 

Once they were outside, Xeha was locking the door behind them when Era spoke again.

“Xeha…” he said stopping them before they had even started moving again. “I have a request.”

"Yes?" Xeha asked, turning to meet Era's gaze.

“I don’t... I don't wanna go home just yet. Can you... take me somewhere else… anywhere you want. I just... don’t wanna be alone yet...” Era said as he moved a bit closer and grabbed Xeha’s jacket, looking down at their feet. “I know you are probably tired from work and would like to rest so we can even go to your place, just... wherever, any place but mine.” He finished and looked up at Xeha’s eyes which surprisingly in dark were one of the brightest points.

Xeha looked over Era as he grabbed onto his jacket. Xeha could almost swear Era's hands trembled as he did so.

Xeha's brows furrowed in concern. He could read some of what was going on in Era's head, but it seemed to be a bit of a jumbled, anxious mess. Xeha knew he had only started initially flirting with this man to lure him into his trap, but now he was genuinely concerned for him.

He raised his hands to hold Era's upper arms gently as a gesture of warmth.

"My apartment is a few blocks away, why don't you come over for coffee? Or maybe tea? Whichever you prefer. It will help you sober up a bit. Plus it's warm there and you can see some of my art in my studio like you wanted to earlier." Xeha offered, in an attempt to make Era feel less awkward and alone. "We can hop on my bike and we'll be there in no time."

Era nodded and gave him a small smile.

“I’d love to see your art.” He said and followed Xeha, subconsciously catching his hand in Xeha’s own.

It had been a while since he was treated so warmly by another man... and part of him relived this sad past in his head, making him even sadder. Anxious that as soon as he said goodbye to Xeha, he would be alone again. Those feelings weren’t often. Only when Era gave into some drinking and let himself dive into memories. Now was no different.

Until Xeha lead them to his bike, sitting on it and looking at Era expectantly, waiting for him to take a place behind him.

Xeha could hear Era's thoughts swirling inside a strange depression, sinking down and remembering old relationships, that, as it seemed, were perhaps not very healthy ones at that. Xeha continued to listen to Era's thoughts as Era pointedly noted to himself that another man hadn't been treating him like Xeha was in quite some time.

That broke Xeha's heart a bit. Era seemed like a genuinely sweet guy, if a bit of a lost soul. He deserved better than that, Xeha thought as he got on his bike and started it as Era took the place behind him.

“I’ve never had a ride on a bike before. It’s kind of exciting.” Era said as Xeha started the engine.

“You can hold onto me if you want.” Xeha offered and when Era did as he said, Xeha sped off towards his apartment building.

Era’s heart was pounding from the emotions of adrenaline running through his veins, making his blood feel like it was pumping ten times faster. He watched around as the world was running right before his eyes, leaning into Xeha’s back, his arms around Xeha’s waist. It wasn’t long before they reached their destination. Xeha parked his bike in an underground garage of a big building, that wasn’t either too modern or too old. It looked classy. They stepped into the elevator and then reached one of the doors at the end of a hallway on one of the uppermost floors.

Xeha fumbled a bit with his keys, trying to unlock his apartment door.

"I apologize if some of my apartment is a mess. I wasn't really expecting company." Xeha joked lightly.

His apartment wasn't generally mess, but usually when Xeha went out with the purpose of finding a human to feed on, he usually tidied up a bit, just in case they ended up back here. But tonight had been... unexpected.

Xeha opened the door to reveal a great big living loft. Its design was simple and rather open concept, save for a few rooms off to one side.

From the doorway they could see Xeha's kitchen, dining area, living room with a complete surround sound system. And just to the side of that was what looked to be some kind of make shift music area with a black antique grand piano right in the middle of it all.

Off to the side there were two sets of stairs, one of which disappeared beneath the loft into Xeha's art studio and the other was leading to a library upstairs. Xeha set down his keys inside the door, offering to take Era's sweater as he removed his own jacket.

Era’s eyes went much wider at the space that place actually took and he couldn’t stop his sight from jumping from place to place. Without a word, he took off his shoes, saying a quiet and absent “thank you” as he passed his cardigan to Xeha.

He looked around with a wide smile of a kid who was just seeing the wonders of this world for the first time. Truly, he'd never been to such a spacious and rather an expensive apartment. He even wondered how much Xeha must have been getting for his work or how long he actually had been having to work to be able to pay for all of this.

“Are you kidding me…?” Era said with a small laugh, looking back at Xeha “If this is what you call messy, you should see how dorms tend to look.”

His first steps lead him straight to the piano, mesmerized by the antique look, then utter disbelief that he could actually see one of the oldest models ever with his very own eyes.

“Coffee? Tea?” Xeha asked and Era could feel a smile in his voice. “Something else?”

Era smiled at him before answering.

“Tea. May I...?” he finished pointing at the piano with a big smile.

"Of course, please, feel free to help yourself." Xeha nodded with a soft smile before he headed over to the kitchen to brew their tea.

When Xeha agreed, Era sat down, at first too excited to even touch the keys, scared the piano was going to fall apart in his hands.

How much did this actually cost and where the hell did Xeha get money for all of this? This was insane.

Xeha set to work, quickly making a pot of tea for himself and Era, setting up a tray with the teapot, two cups with saucers, milk and sugar, as well a few light snacks incase Era got hungry.

Era took a deep breath and when he pressed one of the keys, his ears were blessed with a heavenly, perfectly tuned sound.

Shivers ran up his spine.

Even at the college, none of the pianos he had ever practiced on were sounding this well.

“Oh gods...” Era whispered softly to himself.

As soon as he laid his fingers on the piano in a set combination, he played the tune he’s been working on lately.

Xeha heard Era softly whisper to himself, connecting to Era's thoughts that he was lost in awe of Xeha's piano and how in tune it was.

That was understandable. It was a very old, elegant grand piano, one that had belonged to his family before they were killed. Xeha's mother used to play it for him every day, and had taught her son how to play as well.

It felt as though, in Xeha's heart, it was only yesterday he was playing beside his mother, but in actuality it had been hundreds of years since anyone besides himself had played the old girl.

It was one of the few things in the aftermath of it all that Xeha had managed to salvage. Xeha meticulously cared for it to keep it pristine and in tune at all times, no matter the cost. And no matter where he would move to, it came with him. No exceptions.

Era's song had no words yet, because Era couldn’t quite figure out what this melody was making him feel yet. Only the bridge part was clear, where the keys pressed matched the sound of vocalization Era made.

It was usually like this. Melodies came to Era’s mind with no words, as he discovered what it would mean for him later, words coming with the stabilization of feelings he had playing the melody. Until then, he would always feel like the words were at the tip of his tongue but never able to be spoken.

He fell into trance, totally lost in his music, vocalizing the bridge when it was time for it. His melody was resonating with both sad memories he had, but also the ones that were happy. It had both the feeling of longing and love, dancing and mixing together. Even now, the words seemed even further away from his reach. He let them go, letting himself be carried away by the melody he already knew by heart.

Xeha brought himself back to the present as he finished brewing the tea, placing it on his tray and turning to approaching the area beside the Piano.

Era never noticed the silent observer until he finished the composition.

Only, when Xeha arrived, he couldn't bring himself to disturb Era's beautiful playing. Era's eyes were closed as he lost himself in the music, humming with it here and there. Xeha's heart swelled at the wonderous music pouring from the piano's polished keys.

Xeha froze in place as he fell into one of his own memories, a scene taking over his mind, of his mother playing his favorite song on the very same piano, alongside his father on his prized violin. They both looked to Xeha with a loving gaze, asking him to join them. Then the memory shattered and Xeha was brought back to the present. He was suddenly alone with his own wave of grief and loneliness.

Xeha could feel his breath hitching as he continued to watch Era play. His grip on the tray’s handles tightened as he silently swallowed away the suffocating lump in his throat and tried to blink away the wetness he felt coming to his eyes as Era finished playing and finally opened his eyes and met his gaze.

Era noticed Xeha after he opened his eyes and his eyes didn’t miss Xeha’s sadness in his look.

“What do you think? Is it sad for you? I composed it not so long ago, but it has no words yet. I always wait for them. They appear when I’m sure what I feel with the song. This one is a mix of happy and sad feelings in my case. Something like... nostalgia.” Era said approaching to help Xeha with the tray to set it down before leaning up to hesitantly and gently wipe away Xeha’s tears that managed to escape. “It’s okay to feel this way. Music can do this to us. No need to be ashamed of feeling sadness and longing for something that may not come back.”

Oh, how right Era was in those words. But for both of them it had diametrically different longing for the past. Still though, Era’s kindness was something that warmed Xeha’s heart and his mood was improving with every moment of their time together.

"It's beautiful." Xeha complemented.

“Come. “ Era said leading Xeha by his hand to the small table by the couch where he set the tray down. He poured the tea and passed it to Xeha, Era himself taking a cup of his own as well. In this whole situation he found not only a sense of calmness of heart but also someone he could understand in some way. He wanted to comfort Xeha at least a little bit and bringing comfort to people was what he was always doing best.

“It’s such a big place. You live alone here? Aren’t you a bit lonely?” He asked to distract them both.

"Yes, I'm here by myself. It gives me plenty of space to work and exist as I please. But, if I'm honest, I'm just used to being alone..." Xeha settled on saying, before taking a drink of his own cup of tea. "It's been a long time since I've brought someone else back to my place. And even longer since anyone other than me has played the piano. You played her very beautifully."

Era smiled at the compliment and moved a strand of his hair that fell from his bun behind his ear.

“Thank you. I've played since I was a kid. And I really love it. I like writing my own music, but most of it never gets finished. Usually they stay as melodies without lyrics.” Era said drinking his tea as well and smiling at the warmth of it.

“You have a great taste in tea types as well I see.” Era said still smiling before he set the cup on the table and took one of the snacks, only now feeling how hungry he actually was.

“By the way... shouldn’t you be going to sleep? You've worked a long night. I can rest here on the couch... Oh, right! Paintings!” He said before he let Xeha get any word in edgewise.

He quickly drank up a bit more of his tea, taking another snack into his hand before he got up to stand in front of Xeha. “Come on. You have to show me your works.” Era said excitedly.

Xeha let out out a small laugh.

“They aren't much, but come." Xeha said as he lead Era down the steps to his art studio gallery beneath his living loft.

The studio itself was spacious and had a big window that during the daytime would bring a lot of light needed for art. It was a bit of a mess with paints and all other kinds of art tools strewn about, as well as paintings in various stages of completion. Some were realistic, some were abstract, sometimes of animals or places, others of people. There were paintings of people and vampires Xeha knew both in his life now, and those lost in the sands of time, with only Xeha's memories supplying the model of what they looked like.

Though a few paintings stood out above the rest. On the wall, an old portrait, painted in oil, in an large antique golden frame of a man and woman in one another's arms. And then to the side of that painting, one of a similar style, only this painting looked to be more recent and had a young teenage boy in the painting with them. On one of Xeha's many easels was a half completed work, seeming to feature these same people, as well as a few others. And on another one was the unfinished shape of a young woman.

Era looked at each painting carefully, having this weird feeling that the figures were familiar. Especially the boy in many of the pictures. But somehow the thought disappeared before he could even think about the similarity for longer. Instead he looked at other paintings and could find in them many different emotions, expressed by either coloring or the intensity of brush push against canvas.

Xeha could feel Era's thoughts almost wandering into dangerous territory for a few split moments, before Era's on mind cut it off all on its own.

“You draw this family a lot.” Era said coming back with his look at the portrait of couple and then of the boy “The boy reminds me of you, you know? Did you stylize your family’s looks to be gothic? This is amazing. You have a big talent for painting.”

"Yes." Xeha lied about stylizing the portraits.

If only Era knew. Though Xeha didn't have the heart to truly tell him the truth of the family portraits, of how he painted them so he would remember their faces always, even in death.

"Thank you." Xeha said humbly, with a hand respectfully to his chest and a small smile at Era's compliment, though he was bit thrown off by how Era was seemingly able to so easily read the feelings behind most of the paintings.

Era felt like something was escaping his understanding. Like all the paintings made sense connected together.

“Those here on the other hand...” he said approaching a different canvas that was not exactly finished. “The characters in here are so beautiful, but they feel... lonely. Even the unfinished painting can show that. And it’s not their loneliness that shows.” Era said and looked back at Xeha who was standing behind him letting him observe the paintings.

Era’s mind was processing thoughts really fast again and he couldn’t again quite completely put them in right order or somewhat a senseful way to read them. And most of them just screamed how Xeha’s loneliness seemed similar to his own and he couldn’t quite fight this feeling of having a lot in common with that guy he had met just tonight.

Era's thoughts ran rampant and Xeha had a hard time keeping up with them. He was amazed by how good Era was at reading the mood of his paintings and it was kind of scary to him, being seen through like that, when Xeha was usually the one seeing people through.

But he too could feel that perhaps he had more in common with this human than he had previously believed... Xeha wasn't sure now that he could feed on this poor boy in good conscience.

Before Era could think of something next he noticed how the sun was slowly rising above the horizon.

The night when they met was coming to an end.

“It’s morning already. We should catch some sleep.” He said and made his way towards the stairs.

Xeha was brought back to the present as Era suggested the get some rest.

"Yes, of course." Xeha said, extending his arm at the stairs as if to say _'after you'_.

Once at the top of the stairs, Era moved to head for the couch, but Xeha grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Era, wait." Xeha insisted. "You don't need to sleep on the couch. You need a good night's rest. I can't in good conscience not let you take the bed."

There were many thoughts in Era’s mind at that moment and most of them made him feel like he couldn’t breathe for a second when Xeha caught his arm.

It was something inside him that made him feel this way.

The thought of his visit soon coming to an end as soon as he wakes up later... and he didn’t want it to end just yet.

He felt good in Xeha’s company and for the first time since few hours he felt scared again. Scared of going somewhere away from him. It was so irrational that it was funny.

They weren’t even friends yet, let alone anything more, so why did Era feel like he couldn’t breathe at the thought of parting ways again?

Those desperate thoughts made him close the distance between him and Xeha.

No matter the cost of this move, Era just needed to know why he felt this way... and if was he the only one.

He leaned up, pulling Xeha a bit down towards himself, before connecting their lips, like he was taking a breath that would make his life just a bit longer.

Xeha was taken a bit off guard at first, but allowed Era to kiss him as long as he liked. Era's thoughts were full of questions. Of what he was feeling and if Xeha felt it too. Era pulled away, but only a few inches as if to silently ask Xeha all his burning questions.

To Era it felt like ages.

Xeha couldn't help himself, he was losing control. But still he pressed his lips back to Era's, stealing away his breath.

Era was an emotional mess, but still he was conscious enough to answer every bit of action.

He pulled Xeha close and towards the couch, pushing him down, never parting their lips. He climbed top of Xeha, legs on both sides of his thighs, letting his hair fall down freely, as he reached with trembling hand behind his head to untie his bun.

As they deepened the kiss, Era threw his hair to one side, wrapping arms around Xeha’s neck, Xeha’s hands pulling him close by his hips and Era was melting.

Willingly allowing himself to relax against Xeha, pushing his fear of loneliness down in his mind.

Unwillingly, when Xeha’s kisses answered Era’s invitation of parted lips, his tongue exploring Era’s mouth, that made Era fall into him even more.

Era could feel his heart pounding in his ears, pumping blood faster and faster, as he couldn’t quite catch his breath and his respiratory system was doing everything to keep Era alive through his wave of pleasure.

He barely could notice when Xeha shifted their weight and in a heartbeat Era was the one now sitting on the couch, almost lying down, as Xeha parted their lips, when it came clear they couldn’t breathe with small breaths anymore.

Xeha’s lips moved down Era’s jawline and neck, as Era lowered his arms, letting his hands rest on Xeha’s arms instead of behind his neck. Era smiled at the feeling of delicate shivers running up and down his spine at Xeha’s nips and kisses to his neck.

His neck was always his weakest spot, the place where all his blockades were letting go. With Xeha’s lips there, Era was ready to let go of his reason and just dive into the ocean that Xeha’s arms seemed to be.

Era’s hands started to move around Xeha’s body, desperate to feel all the curves and edges and engrave it all into his mind.

Xeha could tell he'd found the spot he was searching for, where Era's bare neck met his shoulder, as Era let out a small gasp of pleasure when he nipped there, a hand coming up to tangle in Xeha's hair. As he was placing a love mark there, he could hear Era’s heartbeat and sense the sweet blood rushing through his veins. Xeha was just inches away from Era’s pulse point and it was driving Xeha crazy.

The sounds Era was making were so good, so delicious. Xeha almost felt guilty, but at this point he had no control of what was about to happen, as his primal instincts took over. Xeha pulled back ever so slightly, to allow his fangs to show their true selves before he bit down into the blood vessel in the side of Era's neck, just beside where he had been placing a love mark only seconds ago.

Xeha let his saliva ease the pain, before allowing himself into tasting the blood dripping from Era's neck. It was much... sweeter than any blood Xeha had tasted before. It was addicting. Xeha was confused, yet still clouded by his instincts as he began to suck a little harder, holding Era closer.

When Xeha bit down on his neck way differently than Era would expect, only a pinch of pain brought his attention. But this pain was so small that it was gone faster than it appeared, as pleasure washed over him, pulling Xeha closer by his head. Only when Xeha started to suck on the same place, Era could feel like something was spilling down his skin. Something warm.

He could easily identify the liquid. Blood.

Maybe Era was living with no self-preservation instincts, as the fact of Xeha drinking his blood didn’t scare him at slightest, only making him pull Xeha in closer, leaning his head more aside with a small moan, his hand entangling in Xeha’s hair even more.

Surprisingly for Xeha, Era didn't fight back, but pulled him closer. As if he was accepting his fate of the prey he was at that moment.

Suddenly, Xeha felt a strange sensation running rampantly through his body, he was hot then cold all at once, his body feeling like it was floating. It sent a chill up his spine as it brought him back to reality, clearing the clouds in his head.

He could hear a heartbeat.

A second heartbeat beside his own, he heard them both at once.

Neither the sensation, nor the second heartbeat, were a normal occurrence when it came to feeding. Xeha didn't know what was happening, but it was as if he had no control. The two separate heartbeats both sped up at different places, before Xeha could hear them synch up perfectly, then began to slow down.

Era felt more relieved than anything. Everything was falling in place with this revelation. Era felt much lighter when he realized that Xeha’s ethereal beauty and charm was part of his nature. He realized the people in the paintings were something more than just stylized people. They really looked like that once…

Era’s want for Xeha was only growing with every drop of his blood that Xeha took. His blood now pumping much slower, still heard in Era’s ears. His body somehow begged for this moment to last, even if he was to die because of it. If felt like this, he didn’t want any other way to go.

Xeha felt Era's arms around him becoming weaker.

Era felt dizzy and like he would faint any coming second.

That frightened Xeha enough to force himself to remove his fangs from Era's neck, quickly licking the wounds to heal them and clean up any of the remaining spilt blood from Era's neck. Then he lifted his head in worry to meet Era’s gaze, not even bothering to clean his own face of any remnants of Era's blood.

Era looked lost in a daze, not entirely gone, but not quite with Xeha either. Something was wrong, but Xeha didn't know what it was. But this wasn't what he wanted.

Maybe initially he had only wanted to feed on this man, but after talking to him and getting to connect with him the little bit he had during the night, Xeha wanted to just keep getting to know him. He awoke something in Xeha he hadn't felt in a long time. That scared Xeha, but also fascinated him and he needed to know more.

Era weakly slumped into Xeha's arms, though his eyes were still open.

Xeha tried to push some stray hair out of Era's face to try to get some kind of reaction from him, but Era still wasn't reacting.

Era should have been screaming and trying to escape, right?

He should have been hating every single moment of the experience. Be afraid of Xeha’s touch entirely.

Be terrified of the vampire… no, the monster Xeha was.

But he didn’t feel any of those things. Somehow he felt inside that this was how it was meant to be. Something inside him telling him that this was the moment he lived for all those 22 years, like nothing else mattered any more. Every heartbreak was to lead him to Xeha and whatever this was that brought them together, Era knew things wouldn’t be the same in his life again.

He wanted to say how happy Xeha made him with his kisses even if they meant nothing to him. He wanted to say he wasn’t scared and that he was accepting this side of Xeha. That he was still falling for him maybe against his own will. Something was pulling every inch of his being into Xeha.

'This has gone too far', Xeha thought to himself, making the decision that he should wipe Era's memory, just in case. He wanted to give them a chance to have something more, if Era really did mean the kiss.

Era finally lifted his hand to touch Xeha's face weakly.

"Xeha, I..." Era started, but Xeha didn't let him get far.

"Shhhh, Era, rest now... You're not well..." Xeha shushed gently, before using his powers to force Era into a deep sleep, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead to cast his spell.

And before Era fainted all he was thinking earlier faded like a mist in the air and Era couldn’t recall anything clearly anymore.

Xeha cleared Era's head of any memory of anything past his love mark on Era’s neck.

This was for the best. Safer for Xeha’s chance of making things right.

Maybe it was something only a coward would do, but… Xeha was scared to lose him. But he had let himself be selfish, new feelings inside of him blooming like a pretty flower and blocking off his voice of reason.

Then when Era was safely asleep, Xeha picked him up in his arms, carrying him to his bed and placed him under the covers, where he cared for him meticulously for many, many hours.


	2. Sick Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka Aftercare Filled With Cuteness and Feels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone~!  
> If you are here, it means you decided to stay longer with us and our babies.  
> This chapter has a slower pace, only feels and honest talks.  
> This is a calm-before-the-storm chapter, with certain someone visiting in the next one.  
> And that someone is a character I'm sure you will grow to like.  
> But for now, I hope you will enjoy this Comfort Chapter.  
> Next one will probably appear during or after Christmas, depending on time we can spend on it, with our finals coming.  
> We can't wait to read what you guys think about this chapter, so leave comments, they mean the world.  
> If you like our story, leave Kudos as well.  
> Merry Christmas!  
> See you soon~!  
> ~Yui  
> P.S Now we have 'Songs of The Chapter' thing. if you haven't yet, check out the song for Chapter 1 ;)
> 
> Hello Everyone!  
> Thank you for returning to read our next chapter! We have a lot love for this story and I'm so excited you came back to join us!  
> This chapter definitely doesn't have nearly as much action or drama in it. But it does have lots of set up for things to happen later on in the story. And lots of fluff and comfort in there. Haha  
> I'm hoping you guys will enjoy the the new character we will be bringing in, in the next chapter. Yui and I have brought them over from another RP we have, but we love them very much, so we couldn't leave them out!  
> We may have to wait until after the holidays to post the next chapter, but rest assured, we are already at work on it.  
> Can't wait for you to read this chapter and tells us what you think, so enjoy your reading!  
> Also, don't forget to check out the new Songs of the Chapter thing we started, chapter 1 has been edited to include one as well.  
> Please leave a comment or a kudos if you like our story, I means a lot to us.  
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! <3  
> ~Mira

Song of The Chapter: Vancouver Sleep Clinic - Someone to Stay

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNVZ4fzkSu8>

Era was in a dreamless sleep for what seemed to him like a second. In fact, when he woke up, through sleepy eyelids, he could see the window showing the familiar deep black of night only illuminated by the city lights. It was muted behind the curtains that were closed, letting in only so much light through the cracks. Era felt like he couldn’t quite wake up yet and his mind was not cooperating with him in this either. He tried opening his eyes, but every attempt ended with a weird pain in his head. Only after a small while of being still could he recognize he was lying in a bed on his side. Even while he was in this horizontal position, without really moving , his whole body felt so weak and limp like he wasn’t able to get up yet.

He managed to open his eyes to look around and started to remember where he was. He hadn’t seen this room last night, but his last memories had Xeha in them... Then Era realized what happened. He had fainted... while they were making out on a couch.

Era’s face heated up in an instant and he raised his hands weakly to his face to cover it’s crimson color. He had kissed Xeha… and as far as Era was conscious... Xeha gave it back. They had moved to the couch, kissing each other breathless.

Then there were the kisses and nips on the neck...

One of Era’s hands followed to trace the line of kisses he had in his memory, from his lips in a featherlight touch, then towards his jaw and neck. His heart began racing again at the memory and how Xeha had made him feel at that moment. He could feel a slight pain in his weakest spot on his neck but he realized it was... just a love mark...

_JUST A LOVE MARK??_

The sudden realization of it all made him sit up abruptly, causing his head to feel like being hit with a hammer. He whined at the pain and fell back onto pillows. Only when the pain had subsided, did he looked around searching for the person his thoughts were running to. Xeha wasn’t in the bedroom and as much as Era wanted to get up and search for him, he couldn’t. But he was so thirsty and hungry.

He felt like he was starving... How long had he been asleep? Why did he faint?

When Era tried to think of the exact moment it happened, it became clear that his mind was hazy at that point in memory and thinking about that was causing another headache. Era decided to give up on thinking about it for the time being and to ask Xeha about it eventually. Era didn’t know whether he should call out to Xeha or not. He just wanted to see him right there and then.

Xeha could hear Era's thoughts stirring as he slowly woke up. Xeha had stepped into the kitchen to try and make Era something to eat. He could suddenly hear distant panic in Era's thoughts, followed by pain and then want...

Era wanted _Xeha_.

He wanted to see _him_.

Xeha was unable to deny Era of that, especially after what happened last night, even if Era couldn't remember. The guilt felt heavy on his shoulders, but he tried to shrug it off. There was no time for that, Xeha had to get Era back to health first. With that, Xeha took a tray with the breakfast he had made him, some water, coffee and some medicine for his head, then gently knocked on his own bedroom door while opening it.

"Eraqus? Are you awake?" Xeha asked as he entered, announcing himself.

He gave Era a small smile, coming to stand beside the bed, relieved to see him finally getting better with passing hours.

"How are you feeling?" Xeha asked as he set down the tray on the nightstand, handing Era the cup of water and medicine. "Here, take this for your head."

“What happened exactly?” Era asked sitting up carefully as he looked at Xeha, taking the medicine and water in his hands and taking it with no question. “I have a fuzzy memory... but I’m pretty sure I passed out on you. I’m so sorry. My head hurts really badly...” he said leaning his head against the headboard with a tired sigh.

"It's okay, really. It wasn't your fault. We were making out last night... But I think you had the beginnings of a fever? You got really hot, you were burning up, and not in a good way, and then you fainted against me... You scared the hell outta me too..." Xeha admitted softly as to not hurt Era's head more, a bit nervous, even though he was partly fabricating his story. "So, I brought you in here and tried to bring your fever down as best I could.”

“Oh... must have been that bike ride... maybe I caught a cold...” he chuckled lightly. “And yeah... I remember the... kissing part. Just not exactly when I passed out and I don’t even remember that feverish feeling very much. Probably couldn’t... differentiate why I was feeling hot.”

Era looked off to the side a bit to hide his face color changing.

“How long have I been asleep? It’s dark outside, so... A whole day or more?” He added a question to change the subject.

“You've been asleep all day but I’d let you sleep as long as you needed. Although, if you had slept much longer I might have had to call for help." Xeha tried to joke and lighten the mood. "How are you feeling? I mean, besides your head, how are you?"

“Besides those headaches… I’m fine. At least I think so. I just feel a bit weak. I feel like I can’t get up really...” A loud growling sound in his stomach broke through his talk which made him chuckle, then catch his head in slight pain before he could speak again. “And it seems I’m hungry. Really hungry.”

Then Era realized something.

“Also shouldn’t you be at work at this hour? Don’t you have a shift today as well? It’s Saturday.” He asked, being happy, of course, that Xeha was there while he wasn’t feeling well, but still, Era didn’t want for Xeha to skip his duty because of him.

"Nah, it's my day off anyways." Xeha said with a gentle smile, reaching to pass Era the tray with the coffee and the plate of eggs, bacon and toast he had made, setting it over Era's lap. "I made you some food. I kinda thought you might be hungry when you woke up, and this should help you gather some strength."

“Thank you!” He said with a wide smile and started to eat “I dunno why I’m so hungry and so weak. It feels like I have no power to use major muscles at all.”

Era spoke while he was eating, having to put a lot effort in holding the cutlery in his hands. Xeha could hear Eraqus’s heartbeat rising and falling everytime he was trying to put in the extra effort to do simple actions. Era also gave out a slight cough once or twice when he had paused his talking breifly. Anaemia caused by such rapid blood loss was still taking toll on Era’s health and Xeha couldn’t tell him that was the real reason he was ill. He felt guilty. He could only hope this would pass within days, as long as Era rested.

“I feel so pathetic. It feels like it's almost impossible to move a single muscle. What’s going on…? Maybe it’s a flu.” Era said smiling embarrassed “I was always of weak health. Even as a kid.”

"That's okay... Last night seemed like... a lot for you... You were definitely going through some stuff, and being in such a crowded place like that, it's easy to catch things..." Xeha tried to comfort Era. "And then I brought you back here on my bike, with only your sweater to keep you warm on such a cold night... and got you riled which only made things worse on you... I insist you stay here until you are better. It's the least I can do."

Era looked at Xeha with slight worry.

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna be a burden for you. I could go back to my place to not give you a problem.” He said unsure, drinking up a bit of coffee that warmed him up from inside. He gave out a content sigh.

"Yes I'm sure. You aren't a burden. Don't even worry about it." Xeha assured as he watched Era finish eating.

“As soon as I can move a bit more, I promise I’ll help around so it’s not all on your shoulders. And I hope I won’t bother you for long.” He said when he finished eating, drinking up the remainder of his coffee.

He now felt tired from this, small at first, slight effort, which now was exhausting for him. He moved the tray away saying “Thank you.” And laid down again.

“I’m tired again. Will you mind if I get some more sleep?”

"No. Yes, of course. Please feel free to get as much rest as you need. I'm only a room away if you need anything else." Xeha said, taking the tray out of Era’s way, as he laid down, getting ready to leave.

“Xeha, wait...” Era asked under an impulse he didn’t really understand “Do you have something important to do right now?” He asked, realizing how stupid might sound asking about what he was about to ask, but he knew he had to finish. “Can you... stay here? With me?” He asked and to try and make it sound less awkward he added “Maybe you need rest as well... after taking care of me for so long... so you can rest beside me.”

His question mainly came from not wanting to be alone. He just wanted to know someone was there. Keeping him safe. He was usually like that when he was sick. On top of that, when it came to Xeha... he just wanted to see him for a bit longer.

Xeha paused as he listened to Era's request. Accompanied by the Era's thoughts of not wanting to be alone, there was no way in good conscience Xeha would be able to say no to him.

"I have some dishes to do, but if you want me here, I can stay..." Xeha said with a small smile.

“I mean... if you have stuff to do I don’t wanna hold you up. You can do the dishes... but maybe stay with me after you are done?” He asked feeling stupid about his needy behavior.

Era wanted to know one more thing. He wondered why Xeha seemed to be keeping distance from him, even while he was sitting with him earlier. His attitude seemed also controlled, careful with every word. And Era didn’t know why he was like that. Maybe Era’s kiss surprise made him uncomfortable in the end.

Although he didn’t know what was going on inside of Xeha's head after he drank his blood, he couldn’t even think about that, not remembering that it even happened. But it did. It left an invisible mark on Xeha as well, confusion and anxiety. For the first time... he was scared to hurt someone with his hunger. It was still there, every time he was close to Era. Like a drug he tried and it turned out to be his own special brand, addicting taste he had to fight.

As much as Xeha wanted to stay when Era asked him to, he still didn't know what was really going on yet. To tell the truth, he was afraid of what he'd already done and what he could do again. But he also felt like he couldn't deny Era either. "It won’t take me long to finish what I have left to do. Why don't you rest for a little longer, and I'll come back when I'm finished." Xeha offered Era, compromising for his own sake, not just Era's need to get better.

“Okay.” Era said making himself comfortable “I’ll wait... come whenever you want.” he said laying on his side, tugging himself in the covers tightly to keep warm and closing his eyes to think for a bit.

 _Great, Era, keep being embarrassing and he will surely change his mind. Like anything could help. If he’s not into you then he’s not._ He thought to himself

_Last night didn’t mean anything. It shouldn’t mean anything. You’ve been here before and it never meant a thing to all those guys, so stop getting your hopes up._

Then he curled up with his face more into the pillow and his last thought before he started to drift off was: _He treats me so well... I can’t help falling for him..._

Xeha could hear Era's thoughts all the way out in the kitchen as he worked to finish doing his few dishes and they were almost suffocatingly heartbreaking to him.

Xeha was really torn. In all actuality, these dishes could have waited. But Xeha panicked. There was no doubt Xeha wanted Era. A lot. He wished he hadn't ruined what could have been a very enjoyable evening for both of them with his animalistic need to feed. Xeha was still so lost and confused as to what had happened... A feeding had never felt like that, tasted like that, had never gotten quite so close to hurting the person he fed from... If Xeha hadn't gained control back when he did, he feared he could have killed Era. Xeha didn't know what was going on and he was afraid to even touch Era now, in fear he might not be able to control his urges.

Xeha had stayed up all night trying to figure out what was going on, but truth be told he hadn't found much, some old Vampire legends here and there, but that's all they were. Nothing was conclusive. Xeha took a deep breath as he put away the last dish. If he couldn't get an answer soon, he'd have to call _Her_ to come and beg her to help him.

Xeha spent a little more time looking through some old books trying to see if he could find anything, but after an hour of nothing more than he already knew, he could feel himself growing irritated. He decided now was as good time as any to join Era, who was undoubtedly asleep by now. He peaked his head in his room to see Era's still sleeping form breathing. Xeha entered the room, letting out a sigh of relief he didn't know he'd been holding. Gently he climbed in the bed beside Era, still making sure to keep his hands to himself, and his movement, no matter how little he had tried to make it, still managed to rouse the sick man from his rest to meet Xeha's gaze with eyes still cloudy with sleep.

Era woke from his state of half-sleep as he looked at Xeha with a fogged view. He felt like he was awake but he really wasn’t either, saying what his sleepy mind brought him onto his tongue. “I thought you wouldn't come to me... I’m glad... I was wrong...” he said and with lazy and shy movement his hand found Xeha’s own laying between them and as he intertwined their fingers he brought both their hands to his chest, holding Xeha’s hand tightly in his as he closed his eyes again. He could feel Xeha’s eyes on him, watching him and he was sure he could hear Xeha’s heartbeat in all the silence around them. Or maybe it was his own, beating so fast.

Xeha felt like he stopped breathing when Era pulled his hand in close to his chest cuddling it. He didn't know what to do as he watched Era's eyes fall shut again as he drifted back to sleep. What was he going to do? This boy had him wrapped around his finger if he was being honest, and he doubted Era even knew it. He needed to figure out what was happening to him, for the both of them. There was no way he could possibly bring himself to pull away from Era with the way Era cuddled so close to him.

Era felt calm. Safe. Even when Xeha was observing him so intensely and it could be considered almost uncomfortable. But it wasn’t. For Era it was a comfort, a small piece of happiness of not being so lonely anymore. He let out a sigh of relief feeling like his chest was loosening up, like he couldn’t take a proper breath earlier to only now be able to do so having Xeha close. He couldn’t help the single tear escaping his closed eye and just hoped Xeha wouldn't notice.

Xeha noticed a tear escape Era's eye. His brows furrowed worriedly as he reached up with his free hand to wipe it away with his thumb, before allowing himself to lean forward and gently rest his forehead against Era's, a small touch to satisfy his unbearable urge to hold the man beside him. "I'm here Era... I won't leave you." Xeha soothed in a voice barely above a whisper as he continued to watch over Era closely.

Era opened his teary eyes with a small smile to meet Xeha’s, so close to his own that he could just move a small distance and leave a kiss to his lips. It could be as chaotic or as calm as he would like. Could be as long or short as he’d like. But at that moment Era didn’t care about any of these possibilities, only moving in to lightly kiss his cheek like it was something he did every day. He was grateful more than wanting. Grateful for the kindness and care he was receiving tonight and he couldn’t be happier. It’s been a while since someone cared for him this much, making sure he knows he’s safe and not alone, feeling loved. Now, looking into Xeha’s gaze, he didn’t need anything else other than to see his eyes every day from up close like that.

“Don’t... don’t leave me alone. And don’t let these days I spend here... be our last... I mean...” he said holding Xeha’s hand tighter and closer as he looked into Xeha’s eyes looking for answers he wanted to get. “If you also feel... the same way I do around you... I wanna try to do things properly. Meaning that... I know there’s so much that has happened already between us but... I wanna still build things from the base. Not a one night base but by... getting to know each other more, the proper way. I mean I know it’s awkward and I’m probably misinterpreting things... I just want you to know I... grew a certain liking for you last night... bigger than I can even explain and... I wanna try to see what it really means to me.” He explained as his eyes jumping chaotically around Xeha’s face but still main focus were the eyes “If you wanna try as well. Because I fell for you. And I want you to tell me now, whether I can keep hoping for us to be something... or should I just stop dreaming? So I can live through the heartbreak faster and move on.”

Xeha could feel his heart flutterimg and what felt like butterflies in his stomach as Era held his hand tighter, hanging on to every word Era spoke.

He did feel the same, he wanted more, but should he be allowed to? After all, he'd nearly taken Era's life, not that Era knew that. He bit his lip nervously before he spoke. "Era, I... I do wanna try... I don't want to leave you... I don't want to hurt you... " Xeha could feel his anxiety rising as he spoke.

Surely he was a madman for agreeing to this so willingly, even when he knew what a monster he was underneath this act. Still, somehow Era made him weak. But he could not explain it. He still didn't know what was happening to him, but that wasn't Era's fault. Era deserved to feel loved, and Xeha wanted to make sure he knew that. Xeha resolved that he would just have to exhibit as much self-control as he possibly could muster until he did know.

"There are things you don't know about me and things I don't know about you, but I'm willing to give this a try if you are..." Xeha began, allowing the thumb that was still on Era's cheek to caress it gently. "But first things first, we have to get you feeling better." Xeha finished with a smile, pressing a feather light kiss to Era's forehead.

Era was almost euphoric and he would have let himself be like that if he wasn’t still dazed by sleep and not feeling too well.

“No matter what it is, as long as you want me to know about yourself and whatever it is ... I will take what you give and never complain.” He said with a smile almost engraved onto his face “And I will be better soon. When it’s you taking care of me... I’m sure it will happen.”

Era uncovered himself a bit, leaning himself in closer, he covered Xeha and himself together under the covers.

“Here, it’s cold. I’m scared you will be the one to catch a cold this time.” He said almost wanting to cuddle into Xeha as close as possible but also he wanted to give Xeha his space. All that mattered was that Era could hold his hand in his and not let go, it didn’t need excuses.

Xeha couldn't help but let Era cover him, cuddling a bit closer to him. Xeha moved in closer as well, able to read Era's thoughts, even though he was still terrified of truly letting himself enjoy the touch of Era's hands against his own skin. He could control at least that much of his urges. Whatever it takes to make him get better sooner, Xeha thought to himself. Then Xeha moved his hand to allow Era to cuddle in close beneath his chin, rubbing his hand on Era's back to both sooth him and help warm him up.

Era gave out another sigh with a smile as he cuddled in closer, invited by Xeha as if he could read Era’s mind. Being so close now he could feel Xeha’s scent and hear his heartbeat steadier. He was warm, so warm he didn’t want to ever leave the bed if it meant getting away from Xeha’s arms.

“I’m kind of scared of going to sleep again, although I wanna do it.” He said when the bridge of his nose was perfectly matched under Xeha’s chin against his skin “I’m scared that it’s a dream and once I go to sleep, I will wake up and the reality will be different. So if this is a dream I don’t wanna wake up. Ever.” He said softly, wrapping his arm around Xeha’s middle a bit shyly as he closed his eyes relaxing.

Xeha's heart swelled at Era's words. This boy was far too sweet for his own good, Xeha thought to himself before he spoke. "You can sleep, to get better. And I promise I'll still be here beside you when you wake up."

“I’ll keep that promise in mind.” He said drifting off again but before that he tightened his grip on Xeha’s shirt on his back. He didn’t know why he was so cuddly. He didn’t understand why he felt all of this after just basically a night of getting to know each other. But it all felt right. And he didn’t want to go back to the time before he met Xeha.

Era's thoughts made Xeha nervous. Though he could tell he felt similarly to what Era was feeling, he wasn’t sure whether it was that true or a side effect of what happened last night. The situation was strange. Xeha was content to just let Era stay the night, no strings attached at first. But there was an unspoken need for Xeha to know more about the sleeping man in his arms. Still, he was terrified of his own strength. He felt he was just as clueless as he had been when his family was killed.

Era slept soundly through the night. Never letting go of Xeha, always close. He was mumbling through his dreams but he was still sleeping really calmly. In the morning, he couldn’t tell if he felt better or not. He was too sleepy to say at first. But on the other hand he was... so well rested... he could say he never slept so soundly like that until now. And even though he could feel Xeha against him, holding him tight in his arms, he still was scared it was a dream and didn’t want to open his eyes.

After staying the nights with other guys, Era would always wake up either alone or with no physical contact with them, sleeping on two sides of one bed that he would leave as soon as he woke up. It was better to go before they could wake up. Avoiding the talk that would definitely bring him a heartbreak. So he would always just sneak out of bed and go back home, like nothing happened.

Now he didn’t want to beause he could feel Xeha’s arms around him and it felt like... being already home. He knew it was stupid to feel this way and very irrational way of thinking after only one night. Like he didn’t learn a thing from previous “one-nights”. This one was different. It was already second night and Xeha was still there by his side, never breaking the promise to be there. It made Era believe this time would be different.

Xeha could tell Era was awake by the way his thoughts ran rampant. Xeha had slept a little bit as well, but not long. As if trying to soothe Era's thoughts, Xeha lifted his hand to the back of Era's head pressed against him and gently combed through his hair. If Era wanted to pretend to sleep a little while longer, that was fine. But Xeha only wished for Era's mind to calm, so Era wouldn't think of such things like that. Era deserved better than that.

Only when Era felt Xeha’s hand combing through his hair, he could have something to focus on. It was again as Xeha knew that his mind was dealing with thoughts he didn’t expect to have this morning, basically waking up with those thoughts. Now his focus was put on the tender and gentle way that Xeha touched him in, as if to literally calm his mind.

“How did you know...?” he asked quietly with a groggy voice “How did you know I’m already awake and anxious?” He asked moving his head away only as much needed so he could face Xeha’s again. “Did I get tensed up or something?” He asked with a slight smile not really caring for an answer.

He connected their foreheads, Xeha’s hand still running through his hair. Being close was all the mattered to Era at this moment.

To Era, could it almost felt like the time when he was happily in love with his first boyfriend from high school, Mason. But their relationship had ended as soon as they both went to college in different states.

They broke up, or rather Mason broke up with Era, being sure that the distance would sooner or later ruin their relationship. Although there was no big argument and begging to give it a try, Era suffered through his heartbreak for a long time, wanted to hate Mason, but could never bring himself to do it. Era had loved him, and part of him still did.

Era was happy he could experience being loved like that, when no one else could express it. Even though it had ended and it was never the same with others... he was grateful. Because now he could feel that again. He again felt the same calm happiness that was there then when Era looked into Xeha’s eyes and just saw himself in the reflection.

"Intuition I guess." Xeha answered Era's inquiry softly with a smile. Xeha could still hear Era's thoughts dragging him through the past once again. At least now they were happier but still, Xeha wanted to bring Era back to the present with him for a little bit. "What's wrong? Are you feeling any better?" Xeha asked, never stopping the movement of his hand in Era's hair.

Era nodded slightly. “I should be better today. I don’t feel so tired but I still can’t be sure since I didn’t try to do anything much yet.” He said never moving his eyes away from Xeha’s. “Thank you for being here for me. It’s just... I think of the past too much lately. But I can’t help comparing it to what we have now. I can’t help this... anxiety inside me that tells me that its only for now that I’m happy. Because it was almost never for long.” He said and feeling tears welling up in his eyes he turned around onto his back away from Xeha’s look, perfectly knowing he will know what’s going on.

“My stupid brain doesn’t let me be happy now, making me think that I’m getting my hopes up for nothing. I always get attached so fast. Too fast for my own good. When someone is nice and gentle like you are and I can’t help to start to grow a liking in that person... Only to face the reality that it was all for something... Only to take it and when it’s already theirs... they wouldn’t care anymore to act like they acted, before I trusted them and gave them what they wanted, they would just move on, leaving me with a hole I have to work hard to patch up for a long time.” He said letting his tears flow and looking at Xeha turning his head towards him still laying on his back.

“And I learn _NOTHING_. Every time I just go and let myself trust the kind words and fall for this mask they put on just to lure me… It’s never ending well and when I see this exception from the rule that you appear to be, I can’t help but be afraid it’s still an act and in the end... I will be heartbroken again...” Era finished choking on his tears as he covered his eyes with his forearm.

"Era... You deserve better than what has happened to you in the past... You don’t have to be scared, because unless you want me to, I’m not going anywhere…” Xeha answered before Era spoke again.

“Did you ever fall in love or have you loved someone so deeply and were so happy you would think that nothing will ever tear you apart?” He asked after he could breathe again. “My first partner was my first love and I will never stop being grateful for everything he taught me. He was my friend through school and in high school we got together when I discovered I had feelings for him. But as soon as college started, we broke up. We knew that being in different states wouldn’t last long. I will never have any bad feelings towards what happened, even if I tried, because until that moment, he was there every step of the way when I needed him to be and he showed me I can be happy no matter where I come from. That I am worthy of happiness and care that I wouldn’t get before him. But after him things were only worse."

"When you love someone so deeply and then you lose them... What do you do when you have to live without what gave you almost all air to breathe? That's was what his love was like for me. So, I started to desperately search for it. Even where I knew I wouldn’t find it. So I found some solace in one-nights, no strings attached, or at least that’s what I wanted to believe it was. But still I would look for that needed amount of love in those people and they could read that perfectly, using this weakness of mine against me. This hole in my heart they would leave it would never heal. I could only patch up what my boyfriend had left and what others made even greater. Sometimes I would get into relationships for longer but whenever I got to be what they thought was too much too handle... they would throw me away. Like a damn puppy...”

"Era... You deserve so much better than that, believe me... I know how it feels to love someone so deeply... It leaves you feeling so empty and alone... I know that we just met and are still getting to know one another but I need you to know I won't do that to you, or at least I wouldn't purposely do that to you."

Era looked at Xeha again, his face covered in tears and he still couldn’t stop crying even when he was clearing his face from tears.

“I don’t ever want to feel that awful way again. I don’t want to be hurt ever again. Is it wrong of me to search for what leaves me feeling so empty when it’s suddenly ripped away from me? Wouldn’t it be better to just replace it with something else than that, so it’s not taken so easily? If only it was so easy to do, people wouldn’t be sad at all.” Era said and turned onto his side to face Xeha again finding his hand with his again and holding it close to his chest before he sighed a long breath as he tried to calm down.

He moved in closer again to tuck his head under Xeha’s chin again, his free hand holding onto Xeha’s shirt on his chest.

"No, Era, you are allowed to feel however you want... Everyone tries to fill the holes in their hearts in their own ways." Xeha said, holding Era close, rubbing his hand on his back soothingly to try and help him stop crying “I know something about this…”

Although his loneliness originated mainly from his family’s tragedy, he still tried to fill the empty hole with contact with humans, living a life like theirs as much as possible. Still, it was not much different from Era’s ways of feeling like this.

“But I’m tired of doing it this way all the time. I’m tired of one-nights that bring a momentary oblivion. I want to settle down with something for once. Have something for longer. That one stable thing in my life, an anchor. Someone to call ‘mine’.” He said calming down against Xeha slowly “I just hope that time will come when I can say that I’m truly happy with how things are and not scared of what comes tomorrow because having that one stable point will make it all alright. Sometimes, that one unchanging thing in life is all we may need and in my case, that's how it is.”

Xeha thought for a second before speaking what his heart was telling him, in spite of the warnings of his mind.

"I'd like to try to be that stable thing in your life... But I don't wanna make you any empty promises. You and I are just getting to know one another, though it feels like I have known you longer... But I will try my best to give you everything you deserve and more." Xeha said gently.

“No, I have no right to expect anything from you. Nothing like that. Not yet.” He said moving away only as much as to be able to connect their eyes “I mean... I would love for it to be you but... for now let’s not make any promises. I want to get to know you more with every moment I spend with you and even if in the end we just stay friends... it’s stable enough thing if it lasts. Maybe we could become something more. For now... I’m content with how we are. As long as you don’t push me away... I’ll be okay.” He said looking into his eyes before raising their connected hands to kiss the top of Xeha’s hand gently.

Era honestly didn’t know what this man had in him or what he did to him that one night that made Era want to just stick around with no breaks but it was how he felt inside. But what was happy didn’t last long. So he decided to divide it into small parts. Not rushing anything. To just keep this fleeting happiness for as long as he could.

Xeha gave Era a gentle smile.

"We will start small, however you like. And once you are fully better, you and I will take the time together to get know one another, one day at a time, okay?" Xeha offered.

Era smiled back at him.

“Though I wonder if that’s possible to move slowly after my stay here and what happened the night we met.” He said with a small chuckle “Also I don’t need to be any more better than I am now to get to know you. I’m feeling alright already. I think.” He said and tried to sit up slowly to meet no protest from his body.

“Yeah I think I’m fine.” He repeated and looked at Xeha, smile still gracing his face.

"Do you want to get out of bed? If you're hungry I can make you something to eat, maybe we can put on a movie or something if you want. I just want you to take it easy for a little bit." Xeha said sitting up alongside Era.

Era’s heart warmed up at how much care Xeha was showing to him.

“I could start with a warm bath. Or a shower. I could really use warming up like that. Also I need to change... could you maybe lend me something to put on after the bath? If it’s not a problem? I will wash the clothes I have on me and I guess that by Monday morning they will be dry so I can head back in my own clothes then.” He asked stretching his arms a little.

"Of course. Take anything you need. If you want comfy clothes, they are in the drawer of my dresser over there." Xeha said pointing at his dresser. "Would you rather a shower or a bath? I can get the water heating up for you if you like."

“Bath. Definitely.” He said wanting to get up but before that he leaned in to give Xeha a quick kiss on his cheek “Thank you.” Then he got up to choose something as Xeha left to prepare the bath for him.

Era was surely feeling better since his muscles didn’t disobey him now. He looked through the drawer, containing mostly black t-shirts with some prints on them. They were definitely bigger than what he wore, but in a good meaning. Xeha was so well built that it was always showing even without him getting naked. Those shirts only proved Era’s observations. He bit down on his lower lip before moving on to find some comfy sweatpants and underwear. And when he saw Xeha’s underwear, considering its size, he almost gave out a small whimper, covering his mouth to muffle down the sound.

“Gods, why did I have to faint...” he whispered also thinking the same thing and taking what he chose he headed after the sound of the water running to find a bathroom.

Xeha could almost laugh at Era's thoughts while he was going through his drawers from the other room as Xeha began filling the massive tub he had, looking through his different array of soaps, oils and scrubs and selecting the ones he thought best suited Era to leave out for Era's perusal. Then Era's thoughts took a seemingly, suggestive turn rather quickly and it finally made Xeha laugh a bit under his breath.

The bathroom was in black color, like most of furniture in Xeha’s loft, with white accent inside the washbasin and the tub. The tub was of those big ones that could fit around four people at once, and here and there he could see the jets system made for massaging. Xeha was sitting on the edge of the bathtub seemingly amused by something as he looked into the water, holding his fingers in it, surely checking the temperature. Era leaned over to look inside the bathtub and then at Xeha.

“Is there something funny?” He asked not understanding what was so amusing to him.

“Oh, nothing..." Xeha tried to play off before changing the subject as he walked over to grab a few large towels for Era. "There's all kinds of soaps and things you can choose to use at your leisure. You don't have to ask, and feel free to take as long as you want."

“Thanks... I won’t be too long....” he said with a smile “After this I could use some coffee and food. If you can figure something out it would be wonderful.” Era suggested before looking into the mirror, his hand combing through his messy hair he was about to wash anyway soon.

"Of course." Xeha nodded, getting up to leave to make food for Era.

When Xeha left the bathroom, Era undressed and threw his clothes, aside from his jeans, into the washbasin to wash them when he’ll be done with the bath. He got into the bathtub and not even sitting down yet he could feel the warmth spreading across his body, waking his stiffed muscles to life.

“So good...” Era said to himself sitting down and making himself comfortable to next choose the soap to use. As he added the one he chose, the tub immediately produced the mountains of bubbles and Era was feeling like in Seventh Heaven. He relaxed, sliding down deeper into the water, letting the warmth wrap around his body up to his jaw. The jets were turned on, massaging his body and Era wished he didn’t have to get out soon. He closed his eyes letting his head fall back against the headrest of his seat.

“I will have to visit more often.” He hummed to himself, before letting himself lay down underneath the surface relaxed for a second, letting his hair get all damp before sitting up again and taking a new doze of air into his lungs. After a small while of relaxing, he washed himself thoroughly and washed his hair with one of the most amazingly scented shampoos he would ever smell in his life.

When Era was done, he let the water down the drains, rinsed himself off and dried himself off with the towels. Xeha’s t-shirt was indeed too big and it had a print of some obscure rock band name on it. His clothes smelled so good and he was sure that even if they were freshly washed, they still had his scent.

Once clothed, Era proceeded to wash his own clothes. On his shirt he noticed a red stain on the collar. And he was sure it was just a stain from the drink that he probably let spill when he wasn’t cautious.

When Era was done, he spread his clothes on the drying ropes by one of the walls and left the bathroom making sure he didn’t leave any mess. He made his way through the flat to the kitchen, surround system playing a nice music from the radio around the whole place. It felt warm, not only because Xeha set the fire in the electrical fireplace, but also because the atmosphere felt like home.

He saw Xeha preparing food so he sat down by the counter on the stool and watched him. “I’m feeling much better now. Thank you for taking care of me so much.” He said with a warm smile.

"It's the least I could do. I mean I did probably get you sick and all..." Xeha said shrugging as he continued to cut some vegetables, to add them to the steaks he was making on the stove. "You really scared me when you fainted on me though." Xeha finished with a laugh as he threw the veggies into the pan before cleaning his hands off and offering Era a cup of coffee. "But I'm glad you're feeling better now."

“Much better... thanks. And it’s not your fault that I caught a cold. I should have dressed warm enough, it’s almost winter and nights are a bit colder, but I didn’t consider heading back so late in the night. I would usually sit there for a few hours waiting for my friends to get drunk and forget about my existence so I could sneak out and go back to dorms. Usually walking. I like night walks. It was never cold enough to get me sick. But I’m not the greatest with health in general.” He said sipping the coffee as he was sitting and observing Xeha’s cooking. “You seem really confident with cooking. You like it? What’s your specialty?”

"Oh... I... I guess I've never thought about it." Xeha let out a laugh before drinking his own coffee "But I love to take old recipes and add new flavor to them. This was something my mother made for the family a lot. Covers all the grounds of a good meal.”

“Oh yeah, I don’t think you told me about your parents. Did something happen to them? Because you are talking in past tense so... I’m sorry if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s okay. It’s just that your mom seems like a kind and warm person who cares about people she loves. I would love to meet her.” Era said playing with the mug in his hands.

"I, uh..." Xeha kind of trailed off a bit, his grip on his own cup getting tighter. "Well... they were... killed when I was young... right in front me… and I remember every second..."

Xeha's gaze fell from Era's face, only to stare off at nothing as he remembered the moments leading up to his parents deaths. How they were running, how they had fought to protect Xeha and hide him from the angry people hunting them... how they hid him in an old charmed wardrobe... How they tried leading the mob away to try and protect him… The screams… Xeha would never forget those screams... and the flames that had followed, taking out most of their estate save for a few things Xeha was able to go back and salvage in the aftermath...

Xeha shook his head to get rid of the memories clinging to his brain, rising his eyes to meet Era's worried gaze. "Sorry, I got a bit lost just now."

“Oh, Xeha...” Era said and momentarily he was by Xeha’s side hugging him close. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want make you to go back to this memory. It must have been awful and scary. Being orphaned... I know how it feels. Though I was so young then...”

Era remembered this car accident. No faces. But he knew those were his real parents. And then his next memories were connected to his adoptive family.

“I was an adopted child. My parents... they are specific. You could say they were really important in society where we lived in and I don’t exactly understand why they adopted me. But aside from my mother, I didn’t see them too often. When everyone was away on some trips I was with her in the house and she was the only one paying attention to me. Like she was the only one who wanted me around. She taught me everything I can do. She taught me basis of music and art so I could have something to do when I had any free time. And even if she was the only person that cared about me... I wanted to get out of there. And she’d let me.” He said and in the meantime he was still hugging Xeha close. “I managed to get into college here and was able to start something new without being around them. They didn’t even really care, I guess.”

Xeha let Era hug him, holding him close as Era told him about his own life with his family.

“I don’t know why they adopted me in the first place. My life with mother was so different than that the rest of the family was leading. I would barely see them. Only from time to time. They never talked much about what they were doing when they were gone. Only for some certain family occasions basically I would see them.” Era continued. “I don’t really care about that anymore honestly. It’s just... that loneliness that was always there. Even with my mother. I didn’t have friends aside from school and then I had my boyfriend so it helped a lot. But then this feeling came back again when we broke up... until I met you.” He said and moved away and looked at the dish Xeha was cooking “It looks amazing. Makes me even more hungry.” He said to change the subject before he came back to sit.

Xeha was grateful Era had changed the subject when he pulled away. He loved to talk about his family, but if he talked too much he'd give too much away, and he needed a moment after those memories had forced their way to his mind.

"Thank you. I think it's close to being done, so you won't have to wait much longer, I promise." Xeha said with a smile.

“Of course, I think it’s needless to say I want us to eat together, so I hope you will join me.” Era said with a wide smile sipping his coffee again. He wanted to make Xeha a bit happier again the best he could. He felt bad for bringing up his bad memories.

"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way." Xeha said, pulling out two plates to get ready to prepare them to eat. "Do you still want just coffee or would you like something else?" Xeha offered as he finished splitting up the food evenly.

“I could use some water for food. One cup of coffee is enough. I still wanna sleep tonight.” He chuckled smelling the tasty scent of the food Xeha prepared.

His stomach made a grumble, demanding nourishment.

Xeha got Era a tall glass of water, getting one for himself as well. Then grabbed their plates to put them down in front of Era and himself on the isle, by which Era sat down.

Era tried a bite of the dish and he made a humming delighted noise. “It smelled good, but it tastes even better. Gods...you totally have to invite me for dinner more often.” Era said with us mouth full.

He continued to eat with a smile on his face, before realizing they didn’t have any means of contact aside from face to face yet.

“Oh right!” He said and reached out for the phone he left on the counter when he came here. “I guess it would be good... to be able to write to each other. I mean I’ll be happy to do so, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to.” Era said with a small doubt in his voice again knowing how stupid his thinking was after what Xeha did for him already until now.

Xeha let out a small laugh.

"Of course I want to." Xeha took his phone, putting his own contact info into it before handing it back to Era. "We're giving this another chance, remember?"

Era nodded with a small blush covering his cheeks. “I know. I just thought for a second that... never mind.” He said with an awkward smile continuing to eat as he sent a short call to Xeha so he could save his contact.

Xeha pulled his phone from his pocket with a smile, saving Era's contact information to his phone as well. Then put his hand on one of Era's.

"Era, I'm not them. Or at least, I'm going to try not to be, for you." Xeha said meeting Era's eyes.

“I know, I just don’t want you to do anything against yourself.” Era said looking at him. “I mean I’m not saying you are. You just sound like it’s something you would do only for me, against your usual ways and stuff. I don’t want you to change anything because of me, only to make me happy.” He said and sighed, digging his fork through his food “I’m sorry, I sometimes feel so stupid behaving like this in front of you. I just want you to be honest with me. I’m sick of being lied to or people pretending for my sake. Because then I get hurt every time.”

"And I understand that, believe me. And I _am_ being honest with you. And I really DO want to give this a try. You're not stupid." Xeha answered, his thumb gently running circles into the back of Era’s hand.

“I know and I believe you.” Era said with a smile reassured a bit “And I’m sorry for acting like that again. It’s just always there in my head, every time something good happens in my life. I’m scared it will go once I let myself enjoy this good thing.”

Xeha squeezed Era's hand once again.

"You're allowed to enjoy yourself." Xeha assured with a smile. “You deserve to be happy.”

“I know. I’m working on it.” He nodded and with a small smile, before he came back to eating.

It wasn't long before they were both finished.

Xeha was about to pick up the dishes when his phone started ringing loudly. Xeha paused his previous action to answer it. Xeha unknowingly let out a groan as the person on the other end spoke.

"I mean I could but I..." Xeha started, looking at Era, before being interrupted by the person on the other side of the phone. "Yes but... just give me one second." Xeha muted his phone, bringing it down from his face.

"Era, I have some bad news. I was supposed to have tonight off, but one of the other bartenders is being sent home sick, and they need me to cover the last few hours of her shift... Would you be okay here if I went to lend a hand?"

“Of course.” Era said with a smile. “You have your life you need to attend to and I surely don’t wanna interrupt with your work. I’ll wait here for you to come back. I would come back to my place but it may be too early today yet. So I’ll just wait here for you.” He said with reassuring smile on his lips.

"You're sure?" Xeha asked worriedly, biting his lip. "I mean it's only few hours but still…"

“Of course. I’m not a baby, even though I tend to act like one, sometimes.” Era joked “And I’m feeling well. I can take care of myself. The bar is opened till midnight today, yeah? So it won’t be long.”

"Okay." Xeha said hesitantly, before unmuting his phone. "Fine. But you owe me big time. I'll be there in 20." Xeha finished, hanging up his phone, getting up to get himself a little freshened up for work. He didn't really have time for a proper shower, so he made do with what he had.

He was putting on his shoes when he spoke to Era again. "Please, feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen, and there's probably about a thousand movies on the TV if you need something to do."

“Okay. You owe me the movie marathon.” Era said with a smile, standing by Xeha, leaning against the wall to see Xeha off. “Also I hope once you get back we can watch something together.” He added watching as Xeha was putting on his leather jacket and taking the helmet for the bike. Era thought that he should maybe buy himself a bike helmet as well. So they could safely have rides together.

"Okay." Xeha said with a smile, coming over to press a kiss to Era's cheek. "I won't be gone too long, I promise. And then we can watch as many movies as you like."

Xeha heard Era's train of thought. He knew he had an extra helmet around here somewhere, probably in storage... He'd have to grab it on his way back up later.

Era leaned into that kiss instinctively before looking at Xeha again with a smile and a nod. When Xeha left, Era locked the door behind him and leaned his back against it, wondering what to do, as quiet music played in the background. Only source of the sound in suddenly quiet space.


	3. Friends For Ages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka Xeha’s old friend pays a sudden visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone!  
> Happy New Year 2021!  
> We are hoping things year will be much better and safer for everyone!  
> In this chapter comes an OC that has been our child since the beginning of our RP journey.  
> She was created before Dark Road came to existence and when the Trio Trope was more popular with Xehanort and Eraqus.  
> So they needed a female friend. A connection of Kairi’s kindness, Aqua’s strength and Xion’s devotion. And a lot of badassery (+ problem solving and matchmaking skills).  
> In Vampire AU her character is much different and so we can experiment with her more.  
> But we always love our child, no matter what edition.  
> We really hope you’ll like her as much as we do.  
> Enjoy!  
> ~Yui
> 
> Hi Everyone!  
> Happy New Year! I hope 2021 will be better and safer for everyone this year! 🤞  
> Anyways, this is the chapter that we are introducing one of our OCs from our other RP into the story. She holds a special place in out hearts and we just couldn't leave her out of the story, no matter what version of her it is. She was created before we knew Dark Road was even going to exist, and we really wanted out Xehaqus Duo to be a trio like everything else is in KH haha  
> She's definitely like a child of ours and she means a lot to us, and we hope you love her as much as we do!  
> If you are enjoying the story, please feel free to leave a comment or a kudos it means a lot to us.  
> Much love, 💕  
> ~Mira

Song of The Chapter: Avicii - Hey Brother

https://youtu.be/69Fb6XozEx8

  
Era wondered what to do next, but decided to start from washing up the dishes after their dinner. He turned up the music, humming to the rhythm and singing along with Freddie Mercury’s voice in some ballad composition. After he was done, he sat by the piano, turning off the interrupting music and he played few melodies he knew by heart, relishing in the beautiful sound that perfectly tuned instrument was creating under his fingers. The time was passing and Era figured he could text Xeha, as he sat down on the couch with his phone, preparing to look through movies on the TV to see what he could watch or what eventually he could watch with Xeha when he comes back. So in the meantime he texted a message to Xeha, a few of them, as he was breezing through suggestions.

**Era 9:10 pm**

Only 3 hours left. 🎉

I can’t wait to see you again. 🤗

I washed up the dishes and played on your piano for a bit. I hope you don’t mind it. It’s amazing 😍

And I wanted to pick movies for us to watch or just so we can have the choice for the nearest watching. But I have problems. There is so many of them I can’t choose haha

**Xeha 9:12 pm**

Can't wait to see you either 💞

Work is kinda boring without you here haha

No, I don't mind, that's fine. Thank you for doing the dishes, you totally didn't have too!

**Era 9:14 pm**

Well then next time you have to take me with you 😉

I could keep you company

**Xeha 9:16 pm**

I might have to take you up on that 😉😘

**Era 9:17 pm**

There is just too many movies to watch in your TV. It’s overwhelming.

I’m afraid one lifetime wouldn’t be enough to watch all of these 🤣

**Xeha 9:18 pm**

Haha I know I have WAY too many. What can I say, I love movies 🤷😜

I'm a sucker for a good romance movie if that helps you decide.💞

**Era 9:20 pm**

Oh, well then, I’ll look for something then 😉

As Era was searching for something to watch, suddenly the lock in the door got turned. It was so sudden that Era’a heart skipped a bit.

It was Xeha.

It must have been him, right? No one else lived here after all.

But the person who entered the flat wasn’t Xeha. It was a girl. A very beautiful girl. This general opinion was something Era could make even from afar.

“Xeha, I’m back! I hope you missed me, cause the guy I was having today was tragic in bed and I wanna fuck with y-“ she called out as she entered but cut off her sentence mid word when she saw Era, sitting on a couch in Xeha’s clothes and suddenly she grinned in a mysterious way. “Hello there... I came at the wrong time I see...” she said as she approached the couch and suddenly Era was captivated by how perfect the girl looked, walking as light as a fairy towards him. She wasn’t particularly tall, but her high heels and thin figure were making her look like a supermodel. Her long black hair falling in cascades past her shoulders flowed on air a little as she walked.

“Xeha is out at the moment...” Era could only manage before the girl sat down beside him, leaning close towards him, her chocolate brown eyes locked on his.

“Now who might you be, pretty boy?” She asked and took a deep breath, letting out the air with a pleased humming, her voice sounding like a bird’s melody. “Are you Xeha’s new toy?”

“What?” Era was sure he hadn't heard the girl right.

“Are you Xeha’s new boy?”

“I’m Eraqus... I’m Xeha’s friend... kinda...” Era stuttered at her questioning as she took a single strand of his hair between her fingers, playing with it gently. “And you are... his lover...?” That’s what Era assumed by the way she entered the place, speaking so lightly about having sex with Xeha. The thought kind of pinched Era’s heart that was fragile enough as it was.

“I’m Elian. I’m his best friend. And no, I can’t call myself his lover, although I agree, he’s amazing in bed, but you could say we have had fun from time to time when I come around.” She explained lightly like it was just normal chitchat. “I’m not around too often. I like to be on the go more than being in one place, but whenever I’m close to the city, I stay here.”

“Oh...” Era said with a bit of relief.

Why was he even relieved? Xeha had a right to his own relationships. But why it hurt to think about that?

“I must say, Xeha has a good taste. You smell nice. Can I try you as well?” She asked moving her tongue on Era’s neck, which made Era shiver before he moved away.

“What do you mean...?” He asked looking at her, a bit scared but mostly just surprised. Then sudden realization crossed Elian’s face and immediately she changed her attitude as she started to giggle and leaned back against the couch.

“I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to scare you. I just meant that you are kinda cute. You look good and used Xeha’s soap collection... so I thought you guys are dating. I assumed maybe I came at a bad time.” She said innocently, looking away with a blush on her face. “And by trying you, I meant that maybe I could ask Xeha, if you agreed, for us to have a little fun together. Me, Xeha and you. How does it sound?” She asked and Era could almost see the quick lick of the tongue on her lips as she kept smiling gently.

“I mean...” Era startled. He wasn’t against those kinds of ideas, even though he had never been in a situation like this before, but still, he and Xeha agreed to take small steps with everything. “I would love to make your wish come true, Elian, but me and Xeha are not really dating... not yet... it’s kind of a long story...” And he told her about how they met and how he got suddenly sick and stayed at Xeha’s place.

She listened with highest amount of attention he had ever seen in any person he'd met.

“Oh I get it. So you guys just kinda want to start over, right? That makes sense. Well, I _can_ say that Xeha _might be_ a beast in bed, but what I _can’t_ say about him is that he is not gentleman most of the time. So it fits his character I have to say.”

Era nodded a little listening to girl's voice, thinking how was it possible that it sounded like a symphony?

“So why are you all alone here now? Not so gentlemanly of Xeha to leave you in his place alone like this...” She asked sitting with her legs crossed, looking at Era with all her attention. It was almost intimidating.

“He got called to work for a few hours to cover for a bartender who got sick.”

“And when he’s coming back?” Elian asked casually.

“He should be done at midnight.”

“Which is in two hours.” Elian added from herself, looking at the expensive-looking watch on her wrist and sighed.

“I was about to choose a movie to watch. Do you wanna join me?” Era proposed with a warm smile.

“I mean I can... I came hoping that Xeha will make my mood better after unsatisfying sex with the guy I... was meeting... but movies can do too.” She answered, finishing with the same warm smile.

“Cool! I’ll grab some snacks. You can choose what we watch. I have no idea what to pick. Xeha has more movies than I know what to do with.” Era said getting up from the couch to go to the kitchen.

Elian looked at place where Era went to.

“Shame Xeha would be mad, if I took him for myself. He’s smell is overwhelming...” She whispered to herself with barely audible voice only her own vampiric senses could hear.

She chose a random, fun looking comedy she maybe saw once before. Era came back with snacks and sitting by her side, he started the movie. Era forgot through the whole time spent with Elian to check his phone or even to check his phone for texts from Xeha. Though maybe he should’ve told Xeha about his visitor. But he forgot.

Era was having a big laugh with Elian and they were almost finished with the movie, when the door opened with a great force, almost slamming against the wall. Era jumped up with his heart skipping a beat a few times, and saw Xeha, with worry on his face but also something that was more dominant. A possessiveness and a bit of anger, like he was ready to kill someone at once.

"Eraqus?!" Xeha was practically screaming as he nearly forced his own front door off its hinges.

Xeha had been able to sense Elian's presence from his parking garage as he pulled in, and his heart nearly stopped. Elian was here... And Era was still in his apartment… alone... Elian could be trying to attack Era. Or put her hands on him...

Xeha could feel a red hot, possessive anger running through his veins. His bike was barely parked before he was flying off the seat and wasn't sure if he was running, sprinting or flying up the stairs to the door of his flat, struggling to get the door open.

Era rushed to Xeha, worried to see this kind of behavior in him. Suddenly, he realized he also messed up, that he had forgotten about the text messages he was sending Xeha. He must have been worried.

“Xeha! What’s wrong?” He asked approaching him with a fast beating heart pounding in his chest. “I’m so stupid, I just realized that since Elian came around I didn’t answer any of your messages. I never even noticed them...” Era spoke reaching out to to take Xeha’s cheeks in his hands, trying to make him calm down, as his presence was calming that hurricane that Xeha felt like inside himself when he met Era’s eyes.

Era was flattered Xeha worried about him so much. Yet this emotion passed as soon as Elian spoke with an unusual calmness.

“Xeha! What’s up? I know I should have called or texted you to let you know I was coming, but it was also a bit unplanned of me. My vict... I mean, man for the night was not the best entertainment in neither of the grounds I require... so I thought you’d be home, welcoming me as always.” She said and came over to them with a loose attitude. “And I feel a bit offended. You got yourself a partner and you didn’t mind telling me? It was a bit awkward when I just barged on this poor man who was just enjoying his time here choosing movies. But we talked and we kinda get along now, right Era?”

Era nodded assuringly to Xeha to let him know that whatever fear he had, it was all okay.

“Yeah. And I suggested she watched something with me to make her mood better. We were watching a comedy and had such a nice time I forgot about our messages and didn’t check them. I’m sorry to worry you..” He finished giving a peck to Xeha’s cheek, hugging him.

Era's touch instantly made Xeha’s rage start to melt as he let his hands fall to Era's arms looking him over carefully to make sure he was all in one piece. But he still felt like he couldn't speak, like he wasn't in control as he looked over Era's shoulders to see Elian there explaining her presence calmly, still able to see the hidden rage in Xeha's eyes.

Xeha shook his head and met Era's gaze again before Era pulled him in close for a hug. Suddenly Xeha felt like he was able to control himself once again, letting his arms wrap around Era.

"I'm sorry... you didn't answer me and I was worried I might have said something to make you want to leave... And then when I got here... the door was unlocked so I panicked. I thought someone might have broken in or something." Xeha said to Era before looking to Elian again. "And, Eli, I'm so sorry I thought you were here to hurt him... We just got to know one another so I didn't even know if we were a thing yet..." Era pulled back from Xeha's arms. "I'm glad you two get along tho...?"

“Yeah, we do. Though Elian said something about you guys having an interesting history with each other.” Era said with a small chuckle in his voice “And why would she hurt me? She was just really intimidating and flirty at the beginning but that was all. She was joking around. Right Elian?” Era said looking at her behind his back.

Elian nodded and when Era didn’t see she winked to Xeha passing him a mental note.

 _I see some stuff happened. And I think we need to talk. Do you even know how his scent made me go insane? You have to indulge me on how much he knows about you. It was sometimes a close call with me saying something not really human-like_.

Elian spoke to Era again. “I need to kidnap Xeha from you for just a second. There is a thing I need to discuss with him. Will you mind?” She asked standing by Xeha and taking his arm to pull him with her somewhere.

“Of course. You guys haven't see each other for a long time. In the meantime I will set up this romance movie you were proposing, Xeha.” Era answered with a smile coming back to the TV and in the meanwhile checking messages from Xeha.

**Xeha 9:21 pm**

Okay. 😌

It can set the mood for the rest of the night for us maybe?? 😉😘

**Xeha 11:40 pm**

Shift is almost over. Need me to grab you anything?

**Xeha 11:50 pm**

You didn't answer me back and now I feel like maybe I over stepped?

I apologize if that's the case.

Please let me know if I did

Era decided to answer the missing messages aloud: “And yes, I think movie like this can set a mood.” So Xeha would hear him before both him and Elian disappeared in the art studio Xeha had.

Xeha let a smile cross his face as he heard Era's words.

When Elian and Xeha got to his studio, they entered a secret library room hidden by one of the largest paintings. Elian stood with her arms crossed on her chest.

“Now tell me what’s the deal with this guy? It’s just so unlikely of you to let a human stay in your place for so long after feeding. I get that he was sick but... you lost control, right? How is that? A vampire with your experience doesn’t usually get into accidents like this.” She asked a bit worried.

"Honestly, Elian, I have no idea." Xeha said, holding his own arm. "Things were going fine, but then I brought him back here, like you do, and we were just talking and then all of a sudden he was kissing me of his own free will, and like he's like really, REALLY hot, Eli." Xeha said, biting his lip a bit nervously, rubbing his arm anxiously, talking faster than he intended "So, of course I kissed him back. But, OH MY GODS, Eli, he smelled so good. I couldn't help myself. It's like I didn't have control of my body as I bit into his neck against my will. And then... he tasted so sweet, better than anything I've ever tasted before... I felt strange, and I wasn't in control... I almost killed him before I was able to bring my own control back, Elian, and that wasn't what I wanted. ... So I wiped his memory. I don't know what happened, or what's going on. But he's staying here of his own free will. That's why he's still here.”

Elian shook her head with a resign in her sigh.

“Gods... and to think that you can be an animal when I sleep with you and you can still start acting like a teenager in love in front of me. Like some young vampire, which you are not at this point anymore, you old prick.” She said but in her voice there was a tone of fondness for her friend’s love problems.

“Don’t worry, Elian is here to help. But you are lucky I like you, because if it wasn’t for knowing you wouldn’t forgive me, I would have probably taken his blood for myself and the boy wouldn’t even know what hit him and when.” She said half serious, half joking. “Secondly, I didn’t manage to do what I wanted because... what’s another strange thing is... he was immune to my compelling. I tried like ten times through the flirting method that always works and nothing. Are you sure you wiped his memory? I mean, are you sure it worked? Maybe he’s generally immune?”

Xeha wanted to hit Elian's arm and tell her to shut up with her teasing before she explained how she had tried to compel Era. That truly have Xeha pause.

"Wait, what? That's not possible." Xeha was at a complete loss. "Literally at the bar when I met Era, some shitty asshole tried to do it. He was trying to take Era as a meal right out from under me, had his hands all over Era, making him uncomfortable and it worked then, before I stepped in and stopped the creep."

“So what changed...” Elian wondered aloud. “What else that was strange you noticed? Something in Era’s behavior? Maybe before you wiped his mind something happened that doesn’t usually happen during feeding? How did he react to the bite then? I mean it may not answer anything because if you get the human worked up properly, they can’t differentiate the pain from pleasure at that moment. And that’s the reason we do it how we do with humans... but he should at least be scared of you after that before you wiped his memory. Was he scared?”

Xeha paused for a minute to think. "You know... I think he... Pulled me closer, instead of trying to push me off... Like he wanted me to keep going..." Xeha looked up, meeting Elian's gaze. "I couldn't realize it then, but now I can... No human has _EVER_ wanted us to keep drinking their blood like _that_.

“So to sum it all up... we have a case of human that was freely lured to a vampire and additionally wanted to be fed from, more than an acceptable level. That’s unusual, but I think I heard about something like that somewhere...I mean I heard of cases of unusually sweet blood, but nothing matched to it aside from that... I assume you probably looked through all the books possible that you have and still found no answer.” She muttered and then looked at Xeha again when he confirmed her statement. “Okay, I’ll look into it on my next travel and see what I can find in other regions. I’ll talk with some friends of mine and try to get as much info as possible. As usual, you can count on me.” Elian said with a smile.

“And to think that with all of that you would kinda fall for this guy. Tell me now, aside from that matter, what do you like so much about him? I can sense he’s not really the happiest person on earth and I get that vibe of innocence from him. Something that’s not usually your cup of tea while finding partners to kill time with. So did one of those “human plays” of yours connect you two?”

"I... I honestly don't know what it is for sure... But, it's not like he is exactly bad looking, you know? Actually he's like really attractive, and it’s positively criminal... I know he seems kinda low-key depressed a lot of the time, but, I don't know... something bigger seems to be connecting us... And Eli, you should have heard him play mother's piano... God, it was like I was back in time."

“Also when you are around he seems to be the happiest. I wonder where that comes from. Maybe some connection in interests, but also... being lonely...” She said with a sad smile. “What I saw and what really threw me off big time was that he wasn’t exactly feeling 'bad' with my presence. That is, he was surprised but not scared when I arrived. Like he didn’t care about danger or was deprived of self-preservation reactions. Like even in danger he could find something good, a person to talk to no matter the situation. Even if it was a predator animal ready to kill him any second. And he’s quite charming. This smile of his, when it finally appears, you could kill for it, right?” She chuckled and patted Xeha’s shoulder, knowing her dear friend far too well.

But in second she turned serious.

“But I’m sure you know this won’t last forever. First of all, you know you have been in this city a bit too long already. You should change places again. For your own good. Second of all, he’s a human. And he’ll die in 60 years or so. I don’t know if it’s good to attach yourself to him so much. You could turn him, but he still doesn’t know the truth. You don’t know how he will react to the truth, so you can’t hold onto this hope for something with him so much. So you will eventually have to choose. Either you tell him and he accepts it, you turn him and everything is fine, or you decide to hide your nature from him to be able to still be around him for as long as possible and then leave one day without saying goodbye. But I know you. You will probably risk being caught to still be around him. You will stay longer than it’s safe. And I know you won’t like what I say next but it’s for the good of both you and him... But… You should wipe yourself from his memory. Completely. So it’s less painful for him and maybe for you it will be less painful sooner. You have to seriously think it all over. That’s a serious matter, being in relationship with a human… Believe me, I’ve been there a few times… And I’m not even mentioning your counter.”

She sighed before heading to leave the hidden library.

“Guess Vampires are destined to be lonely all their life if they don’t find their mate… An eternity of loneliness...” She said and left to head upstairs “I’m going to go to the guest room to rest… Haven’t slept in a week...”

Xeha knew Elian was right. It was basically forbidden to be with a human unless you were fully intending to turn them into a Vampire or using them as a regular meal. But Xeha would never wish this loney life on anyone... He wasn't sure he could do that to Era... He was such a sweet guy and had already been through so much... There was something different about this man than any human he had grown attached to in the past. But the idea of having to wipe his existence from Era's mind completely?

That made Xeha sick to his stomach, and he didn't know why. He had just met him... But Xeha felt trapped... He didn't know what he wanted to do...

But if he was about to have to give up Era, he, as selfish as it was, wanted to know _ALL_ of what he was going to be missing. Xeha gave himself a few moments of silence before nodding to Elian and following her upstairs. Elian went to the guest room, taking her bag on her way and closed the door behind herself, ready to crash for the night.

In the meantime, while Xeha and Elian had stepped away, Era had tried to choose a movie for him and Xeha, but kind of started to doze off, resulting in him falling into a light sleep on the couch. But as soon as he heard steps on the stairs, he opened his eyes and continued to try to choose a movie. When Xeha approached him, Era looked up at him and yawned a bit, covering his mouth.

“One movie, because I think I will fall asleep soon.” He chuckled. “How about _Titanic_. I know it’s a bit cliché, but I kinda like cheesy movies like this. And I have no better idea. You can choose something else if you want to.”

" _Titanic_ sounds good. It's one of my favorites. Though, I worry you might fall asleep during it, since it's pretty long, but that's okay, even if you do." Xeha said, giving Era the best smile he could manage, as he came to sit down next to Era on the couch. Suddenly, Xeha felt a bit tired himself, stifling his own yawn. "Unless you just want to rest... Maybe do movies another time?"

“I still wanna watch today. Even if we both fall asleep meanwhile.” He said leaning in close to lay his head on Xeha’s shoulder as he started the movie.

"...Okay." Xeha agreed with a smile, allowing his head to rest on top of Era's head, pulling up a blanket to wrap around both of them.

Era kept attention for about half of the movie before he leaned more into Xeha’s neck, closing his eyes unwillingly and falling asleep instantly.

Xeha could feel Era slump more against him, telling him he had fallen asleep. Xeha smiled a bit softly to himself but didn't feel the urge to try and get up and turn off the movie, so he stopped his own fight of trying to stay awake and let his eyes fall shut for the first bout of real sleep he'd had in a long time.

In the morning, Era woke up because of his muscles being all stiff, hurting from the position he went to sleep in. But he was content to wake up with his head on Xeha’s shoulder. He could hear the noise from kitchen, quiet music playing in the background from surround system. He heard Elian’s humming and sounds of cooking. He didn’t open his eyes yet, wanting to stay like this for a bit longer, no matter how his muscles were crying for help and stretching.

Xeha could sense Era's consciousness coming back to the waking world, but didn't dare move and disturb him, desperate to keep contact with him for as long as he could. Even though he could hear Elian destroying his clean kitchen to make food. He both loved her and hated her for it. She was a great cook, but was also a messy one, as it were. Xeha unintentionally winced at one particularly loud noise from the kitchen, careful not to disturb Era beside him any further, in hopes it wouldn't wake him.

This loud noise made Era mumble something under his breath as he raised his head from Xeha’s shoulder, still staying close. He looked around sleepily and whined at his hurting muscles and he knew he couldn’t ignore them anymore.

“Gosh we just fell asleep here like that... and now my muscles are crying for a stretch...” he said yawning and when he looked at Xeha beside him again he smiled softly and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Good morning.” He said before standing up and stretching his whole body, relaxing his stiff muscles.

"Good morning, Eraqus." Xeha offered with a smile. "How did you sleep? Not too terribly uncomfortable I hope. I should have moved us to the bed."

“It was alright. I slept well until I woke up feeling my muscles dying for a stretch. But I should be fine now.” Era said with a wide smile and looked towards the kitchen. “Good Morning, Elian!” He called out to her.

She looked over her shoulder.

“Morning.” She grumbled “Finally you sleepyheads are awake. Breakfast is almost ready.” She was stirring something in the pan and doing few other things meanwhile.

“You are an angel. I could use a coffee first.” Era said making his way to the kitchen.

“In the pot.” She answered pointing at the mentioned thing on the counter and then next things she mentioned “Make it as you like it. Milk is in the fridge. Sugar over there.”

"Elian, you didn't have to make breakfast... But thanks anyways." Xeha said as he followed Era into the kitchen area.

Elian sent a pointed look in Xeha's direction, before letting her eyes shoot over to Era, while his back was turned away, then back to Xeha. Xeha felt like a teenager getting in trouble. Xeha mentally sent her _I know, but just let me enjoy it a little longer_. Elian rolled her eyes and continued to cook with an exaggerated sigh.

While Era was making himself the coffee with milk and sugar, he didn’t notice the silent conversation going behind his back and he got to the table sitting down by it. Elian brought the plates for him and Xeha to the table and then her own, sitting next to Era, in front of Xeha, wanting to control his interactions with the human boy. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Era, but Xeha was her most important person in the world. Her best friend. Ages of history connected them and she was just purely worried about him. She saw what that boy was doing with him and she was worried, that in the end, Xeha would suffer. There was no guarantee that Era would stay if he knew the truth about who they were, and Xeha not telling him wasn’t helping the situation at all. Getting closer wasn’t a better option either. Letting the human get attached and then suffer the loss.

To tell the truth, the boy was influencing her as well and she didn’t like that she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Watching the movie together and talking with him made her feel like she had a friend and she wasn’t usually the type to make friends. She would always have to leave them behind. The only deeper bond she let herself have until now was with Xeha, only because they were vampires and they had time to spare. There was no need to care to see each other again very soon when they had an immortal eternity. Elian had seen far too many humans that Xeha got attatched to die and she didn’t want to see next one. But still she promised to help and she was going to keep that word. Even she could feel that something was different about this human as well.

“How long have you guys known each other?” Era asked to break the sudden strange silence.

See? There goes her want to stay away...

“Well, you can say we've know each other for ages. We are like childhood friends. Basically.” She said, winking at Xeha with a half-smile.

"We've know one another since we were younger... You could say we came up around one another. Had one another's backs all our lives." Xeha agreed. "We had… similar situations when we were young."

“You must have many stories to tell then.” Era smiled at both of them “I bet they are rather interesting ones.”

He continued to eat and he was delighted by the food Elian had made.

“Your food is amazing, Elian. Did Xeha teach you how to cook?” Era praised her with a wide smile.

“Yeah. That and a matter of long practice.” Elian said with a shrug.

“Maybe you could tell me one of those amazing stories of your childhood as friends?” Era asked wanting to know more about this mysterious girl.

Elian tensed up a little but forced a smile, but one that was rather convincing.

“I prefer not to dwell on certain memories of the past…" She said before taking a sip of her coffee and getting up from the table as she was done with her food “You’re a college student, right? It’s kinda late. Don’t you have classes today?” She asked.

Era was suddenly brought to earth by the fact that it was now Monday and he was already so late for classes that he could also skip, cause rushing now wouldn’t make any sense.

“Dammit...” Era sighed and looked at Xeha with apologizing look “I’m sorry. I think I have to go soon. I should at least prepare for my class tomorrow, even if I missed my classes today. I have a music assignment I was supposed to finish...”

"No, it's okay!" Xeha assured with a smile. "Why don't you go get dressed, and I'll go get my extra helmet from storage and give you a lift back to your campus?" Xeha was almost a bit relieved that Elian had reminded Era of his school, even if he didn't want Era to leave, he knew it was a good idea since they were touching on the dangerous subject of their pasts.

“Yeah. Good thing I have you to drop me off.” Era smiled back at him and pecked his cheek before heading to bathroom to get his clothes to change and leave Xeha’s clothes to be cleaned up after using them.

In the meanwhile, Elian who was pretending to do something in kitchen with the dishes, she caught Xeha roughly by his arm to stop him before he could leave.

“If you have at least a bit of reason and mercy for any of us in this flat right now, you will wipe his memory as soon as you drop him off. The sooner you do it, the less confused he will be about what he was doing during the time he forgets. And the sooner it will become less of a heartbreak it for you...” She whispered with a deadly serious look, meeting Xeha's gaze. “I don’t wanna watch you lose another human again. You should know how it feels by now, so please… spare us this situation again. Just this once, do what you would do with everyone else after feeding on them.” Then she turned around not letting him answer and went back to the kitchen.

Xeha bit down on his lip in deep thought as he ran down to grab his extra helmet for Era. Xeha knew Elian was right, but even before he did what she thought and he knew was best. Xeha just couldn't help himself last night. Era deserved so much better... But Elian was right, he couldn't do that to himself again for another countless time. They had both already lost so much already…

He was lost in his thoughts as Era came up, putting an arm around his waist to bring Xeha's attention back as he approached him where he waited at the door for him.

“You seem worried.” He said with a bit of an anxious smile on his face. “Is everything okay?” He asked. He was back in the clothes he came here in, hiding his phone in his jeans pocket and ready to go.

“Yeah. Everything’s good.” Xeha said forcing a smile and kissing the younger man’s cheek.

Era took one of the helmets from Xeha and kissed his cheek as well. “This one looks great.” Era said smiling widely. “Though, you'll have to show me how to do it properly.”

So once they were at the garage, after saying goodbye to Elian and getting to the underground level, Xeha put on the helmet on Era’s head for him, adjusting it to sit on Era's head properly. When they were ready, they sat on the bike and with Era’s arms holding onto Xeha's waist as they sped through the city.

They soon were approaching the building where Era had his shared doorm room. To be honest, Era’s stomach was acting up like it had on Friday when they'd met, scared was going to be the last time he'd see Xeha. He seemed to still be like a dream and it made Era not want to be away from him ever again. But he had his life, and Xeha had his. Part of him wanted whatever this weekend had been to never end, always being together. Living together... that was something he couldn’t ask for now. He wouldn’t even dare to.

When they stopped by the building, Xeha turned off the engine and took his helmet off looking at the housing estate in front of his eyes.

“So that’s it...” Era said getting off the bike and taking off his helmet.

Anxiety and sadness was taking over his face again, finding it's resting place in his eyes, but then Era thought about all of the moments this weekend, the ones that made his heart flutter from happiness and a warm feeling spread through his body, straight from his heart, bringing a smile to his face before he spoke.

“I had so much fun with you this weekend. Even when I was sick and sleeping, and I wouldn’t change it for anything else. Thanks to you I felt so happy, calm... Not only that, but also cared for and loved... and I don’t want to ever go back to time before I met you.” He said cupping Xeha's cheeks in his hands gently and touching his forehead to Xeha’s. “I felt like… as long as I can see you... be around you and hear your voice... I will be alright and healing. So please… don’t let this be the last time I see you.” He asked and before Xeha could say anything and before Era himself would be able to stop even if he wanted, he pressed a warm kiss to Xeha’s lips, trying to convey all of his emotions and need for this relationship to last.

His thoughts of Xeha filled with memories of the weekend and euphoria, pure euphoria, running through Era’s vains... it all was reaching Xeha’s senses. It was overwhelmingly powerful. When Era finally moved away, leaving Xeha almost frozen, he had a genuine smile on his face and love in his eyes.

“I miss you already...” He said adjusting his sweater and turned around to rush to his dorm building, disappearing inside of it.

Xeha was certain his brain shut down when Era kissed him like that. He had been so steeled when they left his apartment that he was going to wipe Era's memory as soon as they said their goodbyes, but the way Era spoke, what he said and how his feelings were loudly broadcasting to Xeha, was so overwhelming. He felt frozen, starstuck… and hopelessly in love. It had only been two days, yet Xeha felt like he was the one under the spell of compelling to Era, not the other way around as it should be.

He wanted to be Era's safe place, wanted to make sure Era knew how cared for and loved he should always be for the rest of his life. There was no way Xeha could stomach having to take that away from Era, who had already been through so much in such a short time.

To hell with protocol. Xeha would stay in for the hurt, would gladly welcome it, for a thousand years if he had to. Era deserved to feel happy and so did Xeha.

Elian would reprimand him for his dumb decisions for decades probably once she found out, but Xeha couldn't be bothered to care.

Fuck, Xeha was so screwed...

Before he could even start his bike again, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Era.

**Xeha 11:15 am**

Hey, so maybe we should like go get coffee after your class or whatever you have to do for your assignment.

If we can make it that long. Maybe I should just get you some coffee anyways?

I miss you already too 🖤💞

**Era 11:20 am**

🥺

Of course, coffee sounds amazing. You know I wanna spend time with you in however way it would be.

I’ll let you know when I’m done tomorrow, okay? Cause I wanna focus on the task today. 🎶🎵🎹

Also, I hope I didn’t overstep with this kiss. I just felt so happy and grateful for this weekend... I know we were supposed to make it small steps, but I just couldn’t help myself.

**Xeha 11:25 am**

No, no. It was okay.

More than okay actually.

I didn't exactly hate it.

And I can't wait to get a chance to return the favor

**Era 11:26 am**

“I didn’t exactly hate it” 🤣

That’s a line to be scared of haha

I’m glad tho it was bearable.

**Xeha 11:28 am**

Shut up 🙄 you know that's not what I mean you jerk 😂

I've been letting you kiss me all weekend with no complaints 😘

**Era 11:29 am**

But those kisses weren’t like the one now. 👉👈

So you know what I mean.

Thinking about that I wanna do it again 🔥😍

Okay, I have to focus 🧘

Talk to you in the evening?

**Xeha 11:31 am**

Yes, yes. Get that music written 🎶🎶

Yeah you can call or text me whenever.

And same goes for tomorrow.

Give me a call or text me tomorrow after you're all finished and I'll come and pick you up 🏍💕🖤

**Era 11:33 am**

I can’t wait already 🥰

Wish me luck 💙💜🖤💛💚🧡🤍

**Xeha 11:34 am**

😘

Good Luck 🍀🤞

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💗

**Era 11:35 am**

Thank you 😘

Elian was so going to yell at him when he got back to the Flat. But Xeha found he didn't care as he pocketed his phone with a smile after texting back and forth with Era for a little while before started his bike and headed home.

Elian was waiting for Xeha when he got back, even though she grew skeptical about not hearing Xeha’s thoughts, she came to hug him for comfort, hoping that he actually did what she asked of him and just wanted to be alone with his thoughts on that matter.

“It’s gonna be okay. It’s only for the best, you’ll see that in time.” She said and moving away she smiled widely. “How about favorite movies marathon to get your spirits up?” She suggested to cheer Xeha.

Then her look turned a bit more flirty.

“Or maybe I can make your mood better in a bit different way...?” She knew that most likely, the second option was out of question, but she also knew Xeha wouldn’t be mad at her for asking. This was how well they knew and understood each other. Evening when he was freshly after the “breakup”. She only wanted to help him.

Xeha knew Elian would try to read his thoughts and emotions, so he put up a temporary block, hoping she wouldn't press the issue. Once he entered the flat, Elian immediately pulled him into a hug, before doing what she always did and tried to making him feel better. Xeha hated lying to her like this, but he couldn't help it, so he put on an act the best he could.

"Movies sound great..." Xeha said, giving her a small smile. "Though maybe I should just…try and figure out what happened... Why he was so... different..." Xeha put his arm around himself to hold his other arm as if in comfort. That part wasn't a lie. He really did want to know what was suddenly making Era stand out against all other people Xeha had ever fed from or been with in his past.

Elian looked worriedly over her best friend.

“I promised I will look into it and I’ll still do that. It’s a very interesting case and I promise I will make sure that no one knows about someone actually being like this. For his safety. You have my word.” Elian answered.

She knew that even if they were through with this problem and Era wouldn’t be close to them anymore, still asking around about it and risking his privacy was a matter that needed to be taken into consideration.

“Don’t bother yourself with this right now. Let me take care of it. And hey... if you ever come to a conclusion that you don’t want to remember Era and suffer... let me know. I can do this much.” She was only making sure Xeha knew she could help him forget if he needed that. But she knew how he was. And he would bare this loss for the rest of his immortal life. She was almost feeling guilty for making Xeha break up with Era, but she was convinced she was only being reasonable.

"Eli, you know I could never ask that of you... for this or any other matter...." Xeha said sincerely. "We are meant to remember the things that hurt us, it's what shapes us into who we are, whether we are immortal or human. We can remember things for ages as vampires, and I will carry my pain and sorrow and loneliness with me for all the time I have on this Earth, immortal or otherwise, as a badge of honor. As proof that I existed and loved and lost."

At first his whole speech seemed romantic and really poetic and Elian somehow felt even more guilty for forcing her friend into this type of suffering only for their safety and comfort. But then she couldn’t help but have a small thought about inconsequence of his words.

“Then why do we do this to humans?” She asked in sudden strange revelation “Why do we think we have a right to suffer for them and take it away from them? We erase our existance so they don’t get attached and suffer like Era. But where’s the justice in this? We should be doing this the human way, just making it a break up and then the suffering would be on both sides. But this would definitely be more fair...” She said not really knowing that her brain went into a mode of a blabber as she let her mind take lead on the problem she was speaking about.

She shook her head after that and moved to the couch with a sigh. “Never mind that. I’m gonna set up that movie for us. You get the snacks.” Elian said as she was leaving Xeha.

“Elian, you know why we have to wipe their memories..." Xeha said, knowing full well Elian could still hear him as he took the few steps into the kitchen, even though she moved to his living room. "We do it so we won't be found... I don't want you to have to go through what I did with my family..."

“But Era doesn’t know about us. Why didn’t you just... break up with him? It’s not that he would say anything since he doesn’t know anything. So?” She asked hearing him perfectly well with her hearing.

Xeha went silent for a moment. "Look, I panicked, okay? I wasn't in control when a fed on him and that scared me... And... He was happy... You should have seen him when he came into that bar... How lonely he was... I couldn't be the one that took that happiness back from him."

“Well you do you. But I understand that. You fell pretty hard for him don’t you?” Elian teased a little “I am not surprised here either. You get used to people very quickly. For better or for worse.”

"I won't lie, I really did... He's different than any human I've met before... I can't explain it..."

“I understand. But I also hope you understand why I asked this of you. For the good of all three of us.” Elian said and when Xeha came back she set the movie up. “Now let’s just relax and watch a movie or two before you gotta work.”

"Okay, sounds good." Xeha said, sitting down beside Elian in the couch with snacks and a smile.

In the meantime Xeha’s phone gave out a notification jingle a few times. For a moment Xeha wasn’t answering but when he started, he couldn’t take his eyes off the phone. Still he had his mind blocked, from Elian.

“Xeha, movie time. Work later.” Elian scolded him, hoping it was actually work email. Though she had started getting bad feelings about it.

"Right, Right, Sorry." Xeha tried to brush off, locking his phone to put it down in his lap.

She pretended to be focusing on movie but tried to search in Xeha’s mind for any slip up in defense. She knew him too well. He wouldn’t be so calm about what he had to do earlier, especially after saying Era was a special human for him. She wanted to believe Xeha did what was right but his behavior was definitely suspicious.

Xeha could feel Elian watching and trying to read his thoughts intensely. He had to be strong, or Elian would find out he was lying to her. He hated every moment of it, he didn't like lying to her. But there was something in the way Era had kissed him... He couldn't give him up either...

The moment Xeha remembered the kiss, and by extent how he decided to not end things, everything slipped through the walls and Elian saw immediately what had happened. Still though she wanted to believe he did what she asked of him.

“Please, tell me you are done with it... Please tell me you wiped his memory and we won’t have to worry anymore. That this memory is just something that happened earlier and not just before you came back when you dropped him off.” She asked knowing perfectly well that wasn’t the answer.

Without letting Xeha answer she got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. She needed to get something to drink. Something hard, whatever it was. She didn’t know what was worse. Being lied to or that he didn’t listen. Both were the same.

Xeha followed Elian into the kitchen whether she wanted him to or not.

"Eli, I couldn't... You don't understand. You didn't see him when we first met... He was so lonely and depressed... His friends had abandoned him there at the bar and he was ready to drink his sorrows, damned if someone was trying to take advantage of him or hurt him... I'm not even honestly sure how much long this boy would survived outside of our meeting... He could have been dead, or hurt himself." Elian seemed unconvinced as she kept her back to Xeha.

Xeha felt horribly guilty for having lied to her but he couldn't help it. He really did believe something would have happened if he had not met Era, among other things.

"Please, Elian..." Xeha practically begged. "The difference in him was like night and day... he's so much happier... I can't take that away from him..."

“Actually, I’m not mad about you lying to me. For a moment I felt guilty for making you do this and suffer the loss but on the other hand...” she sighed pouring herself a glass of whiskey she found in the fridge. “It still hurts you felt you had to lie to me. I know I can be a strict person and it kinda flatters me that you get scared of my reactions, but you know why I asked this of you, right? For his safety and ours...”

Elian sighed and turned around leaning against the counter with a worried look.

“You know I want the best for you. Like you've always done for me. I want you to be happy. And I see how happy you were with him around, but please understand, I also worry when I remember all those heartbreaks through ages. When the people you were close with died or left you. And every time I was there to help you get through this and my own heart was breaking for you. Every. Single. Time. We’ve been through so much, you even more, and still I’m the one to lecture you."

Elian let out a small part of a bitter laugh taking another drink before continuing.

"Shouldn’t it be the other way around? It’s me who’s supposed to be trying to fit into human world, with what happened to me, getting violently turned into a vampire in dark alley of New Orleans where you found me. Where you took me in... I’m younger. You are supposed to keep _me_ in check and not the other way around. And it turns out I am always the parent in these situations.” She said looking at him with a bit of pain in her eyes.

She seemed so vulnerable which was rare these years.

“I know, it’s who you are and you can’t change it so easily. But we are vampires, he is a human. Predators and prey. That’s how it should be. And he should be running scared from us. The fact that he’s not, means we are either too good at pretending or he has no self-preservation instincts, which is also a scary thing for me to see. And this whole situation with his attachment to you and crave to be fed from... that’s not normal. But I promised and I’ll check into that, and I won't go back on my word. Though I get the feeling like the answer could be the death of all three of us...” She crossed her arms on her chest. “Hunters are still a thing, Xeha. As long as we exist, they will too. Killing anything they can't understand. Any exception from a norm is never a good thing. Era is an exception and being around us will put him in terrible danger.”

She looked into Xeha’s eyes.

“Just... please, be careful. I don’t have anyone else beside you and I hate to see you cry. But I hate to see you mad at me as well. So I won’t stop you anymore because I know how much this boy already means to you. And I’ll find the info you need. Maybe then you will change your mind and do the right thing, seeing how dangerous it can be for both you and him.” She said and turned back to put the whiskey back into the fridge after pouring another glass, after drinking the remainder of her first glass in one go. “And let’s hope it won’t be too late.”

"I will... You know I would never willingly do anything that puts you and I in danger... If I ever felt things were, you know I would do something different." Xeha assured, coming up to Elian, taking her hands in his own to pull her into a tight hug. "I know I need to be careful... I'm trying to be mindful... I think I just need to see this through for just a little longer for all our sakes... You know you'll always be my best friend... You're important to me too. One of the most important things in my life, you know that. "

She answered with the hug as tight as his.

“I know. That’s why I’m still coming around and bearing with your stupid ideas.” She chuckled, nuzzling her face into his neck. “I just wish I didn’t have to be a mother for both of us so often.” She added before pulling away and kissing his cheek lightly.

She moved away and drank up the rest of her whiskey.

“I’m leaving today, though. Even now, actually. You don’t need my support today as I can see, so the faster I get to that research the better. In the meantime, try to not do anything more stupid than you already did.” She announced when she was done and moved towards the guest room to pick up her things and get ready for travel. “I hope it won’t take me more than a month. But if it does, I’ll call you up.”

"Okay… ... Hey..." Xeha said, pausing to catch Elian's elbow as she went to leave, making her stop to look back at him, his voice filled with concern. "Be careful out there, okay? Promise?"

“As usual.” She said with a grin, but to reassure him she added “Promise.” When Xeha let her go, she left the flat saying, “See you soon.”

Xeha smiled after her, closing the door behind her before he when down to his studio to work on finishing a few of his art pieces.

**Era 00:30 am**

Gosh I’m so tired 😩

It’s late, but thanks to that I managed to do things in advance so I can have more time 🤩. For you that is. 😘

**Xeha 00:31 am**

That's awesome!! More time for us 😉😘

But, you should probably get yourself a little rest before we go out anywhere. I don't need you falling ill and fainting on me again! 😅💞

**Era 00:33 am**

I know. I’m getting ready to sleep now. It’s past midnight. 😴

Are you at work?

**Xeha 00:34 am**

Yeah. I'm on a break. I'm gonna go home and take a power rest after my shift is over so I'll be well rested for you 😘

**Era 00:36 am**

I can’t wait for tomorrow. I start to think I won’t fall asleep. 😄

I’m lying in bed and I miss you by my side already 😘

I need hugs. I hope I can get some when we meet.

**Xeha 00:38 am**

As many as you want 😘

Missing you too.

The bar is particularly rowdy tonight and I am not very into it.

I'd much rather be beside you to help you sleep.

**Era 00:40 am**

I just dozed off a bit. I think I will fall asleep after all. See you tomorrow. I’ll let you know when I’m done.

**Xeha 00:42 am**

Okay 💞 See you tomorrow. Can't wait 😘


End file.
